Raymond Footie Gongora – in the semi pro basketball era – he was one of the winningest players on the most dominant team, the Kremandala Raiders. Since then, he’s moved unto community work, youth counselling and a little bit of politics. But it seems that while he’d gone far in life, in the eyes of many, Footie Gongora could not get past his roots on Mayflower Street. That certainly seemed to be the majority opinion of the residents of the Fresh Pond Community outside Burrell Boom. For months, they insisted that Gongora and his children or nephew was systematically looting homes in the community. Finally, after months and months of complaints in every forum available, Gongora was charged for handling stolen goods.
Many of the residents felt relief, and shortly after the pressure became too much and Footie and his family abandoned their home at Freshwater Pond. But it seems that wasn’t enough and today that home was destroyed in a fire. Footie says it was burnt down by his enemies in the community – but Jacqueline Godwin spoke to the woman who worked hardest to get him ejected from Fresh Pond and she said, it wasn’t her. Here’s both sides of this incensing dispute.
Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
At this time Ladyville Police and fire investigators are still not sure what started the fire but the homeowner Raymond Footie Gongora strongly believes it was deliberately set because of an ongoing dispute between his family and residents from the Fresh Pond Community.
Jacqueline Godwin,
Well presently there is a charge against you and that is of handling of stolen goods as a result of reports being made by area residents of the Fresh Pond community that you’re actually behind a number of the break-ins and that as a result of that they wanted you out of this community. Do you believe the incidents are connected and this is a very strong message being sent to you?
Raymond Footie Gongora, Fire Victim
“Yes the incidents are related because I was threatened that my house would be burnt and the reason I am saying it is because my daughter is going
to school and she was threatened. Why would you put that kid in it, she is in standard 6 trying to go to college and focus on her PSE and she came and said so and so told me that they were going to burn my house down. I am not even up here so why would you interfere with my house and I am not here. If you say that I am responsible for the break ins and no kids are at my house at this time and I am not even up here so why would interfere with my home. I lost everything but I will be honest, God will be the judge.”
Raymond Gongora was arrested and charged on January twenty third and his family moved out of the Fresh Pond community and were not home at the time of the fire. But who would want to set the Gongora’s home on fire? Well Raymond Gngora strongly believes that this woman Natalie Robinson who is the Vice President of the Fresh Pond Community Council may be involved and that threats were even made to burn down the house.
Natalie Robinson, Vice President - Fresh Pond Community Council
“Jackie I was nowhere around when this fire was set. But as you know people have had allegations against Mr. Gongora about the break-ins around Fresh Pond and so it could be anybody who had set that fire. Mr. Gongora has a lot
of enemies in Burrell Boom itself. As a matter of fact, Mr. Gongora has threatened me personally stating that whenever he comes he will be in his house when people will come and light up my home. I have been threatened more than once by him and his wife. This is what the people have been asking for from the beginning for him to come out of Fresh Pond and I am no way involved. As a matter of fact I was at church this morning.”
Lorraina Rodriquez, Resident
“I don’t know if somebody set it on fire, I don’t know.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
There is this allegation that Miss Robinson may be involved, that she either deliberately set this house on fire or set up someone to do it. Do you believe she is involved?
Lorraina Rodriquez,
“No. I am here friend and she never did tell me she would like Mr. Gongora’s house. We always talked and I told her to take her own process to do whatever she had to do so he can pay for what he has done to us and not a day she came and said she wanted to pay somebody to set his house on fire, not a day.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
And at the time of this incident she was in your company?
Lorraina Rodriquez,
“Yes she was in my company because we went to the Catholic School to get ashes today because today is Ash Wednesday and she was with me the whole while until 11 o’clock.”
Raymond Footie Gongora,
“Well all I want is that the policeman and the fire people do their job and find out how the fire started.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Word out here is that this may have been deliberately set. What are you preliminary investigations suggesting?
Insp. Calbert Flowers, Ladyville Police
“Well it is too early for us to reach any conclusion at this time. The investigation is young, the fire personnel are still trying to put out the remainder of the fire so it will be premature for us to make any comment in that regard.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So far what do we know happened here?
Insp. Calbert Flowers,
“Well we received the call about 11:55 this morning that a house is on fire in this Fresh Pond area. Fortunately our mobile patrol was almost in the area here at Burrell Boom. The officers proceeded to this location where they found the house engulfed in fire.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
We know the home owner recently had gotten himself into problems whereby residents from this Fresh Pond Community were accusing him of being responsible for a number of break-ins. As a result he was arrested and charged for handling stolen goods. We also know as a result of that situation area residents wanted this family out. Do the police strongly believe that both incidents are connected?
Insp. Calbert Flowers,
“Well since those incidents and those allegations Mr. Gongora had actually moved out. He moved to Belize City so the house was basically abandoned. He had someone who was taking care of the house but no one lived at the house. At this time it would be very premature to say if someone is responsible for this fire. We would have to carry out an investigation first.”
It is believed the fire started from one of the family’s back bedrooms and then quickly spread across the concrete structure.
Raymond Footie Gongora,
“I knew that and nobody can’t take that away from me, that’s not my style they were accusing me of and I just moved away to let them see where the real problem is. So from since that incident happened I moved away but I left all my stuff in the house because I still legally own the house and I left a young man to watch the house, daily he would check the house and then go back to his home. I really really know, I don’t have an electrical problem in my home. I had my current in, my water still in, and the young man said he just came, checked the house, and went home five minutes and came back and the back room was engulfed in flame. I wasn’t here, I was called and that is why I came up.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
There was nothing he could have done to save anything inside the house?
Raymond Footie Gongora,
“He said when he reached in the fire was just gushing out from the back area so he couldn’t and the computer and stuff were by the corridor so he said he couldn’t save nothing. So I told him don’t worry mein, it is not your fault.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Do you believe this thing looks suspicious?
Natalie Robinson,
“Well I wouldn’t say it looks suspicious but like I said he has a lot of enemies in Fresh Pond who will hope this will be the end of it, Mr. Gongora out of Fresh Pond. As a matter of fact he had moved out already and just maybe some of his stuff were in the house, I don’t know, but finally it should come to an end now and I think the Fresh Pond people are very thankful.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
In anyway do you regret him losing the home and losing whatever was lost inside the house?
Natalie Robinson,
“Not at all because over 20 families have lost more than what he has lost so I have no regrets.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
I know a number of residents wanted him out of the neighbourhood because with him not here you guys strongly believe the break-ins would have ceased. How are you feeling about this event?
Lorraina Rodriquez,
“Well the break-ins have stopped a lot since he has moved out, nothing is happening, back here is very quiet right now and we are trying to do a project right now but nothing is happening back here now. Nobody is complaining they went into their house or stealing anything at the moment since he moved away.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Do you feel sorry that he has lost his home and whatever was destroyed inside the house?
Lorraina Rodriquez,
“Well I am not too sorry for him because he put us through lot of things that he did to us because me was one of the residents too that he tried to break one of my glass and I live with my husband alone and suppose they had caught, nobody would have known what happened to me inside the house. So everything stopped since he moved out from here.”
7News understands the house and its contents were not insured. The Gongora family had been living there for some ten years. Jacqueline Godwin reporting for 7News.
And while police and fire investigators try to determine the cause of the blaze Raymond Footie Gongora is scheduled to reappear in magistrate court on March thirteenth for the charges of handling stolen goods. He was charged along with two fourteen year old minors, one who is his nephew and nineteen year old Dwayne Tillett who was charged with burglary. According to the residents of Fresh Pond Community well over twenty homes had been burglarized.
Just before the Gongora family moved out of the community the residents had put together a petition for the family to be removed from their neighbourhood. While police would not confirm to us whether or not they are treating the fire as a case of arson, sources close to the investigation tell us that authorities do believe it was deliberately set.
