Special Police Constable Eloy Flores and Police Corporal Matthew Lopez have been in law enforcement for a combined ten years but tonight both are on interdiction from duty pending the outcome of an investigation in which they have been accused in connection to the March fourteenth killing of Chinese businessman Hui Lin Chen. In this latest arrest that occurred last week. PC Eloy Flores and Cpl. Lopez were detained at the Dangriga Police Station where they have been attached for the past eight and two years, respectively. Both were charged with abetment to blackmail.
While the Police Department and Special Branch who have been in charge of the overall investigation have not been saying much about the case, 7News has been reliably informed that the arrests follows an alleged report made by no other than the prominent Chinese businessman who allegedly initiated the hit in which the shooter mistakenly murdered an employee and not the employer who is believed to have been the intended target. From what 7News has been able to gather, the alleged hit man reportedly told police that he was approached by a man who is a resident of Dangriga Town.
The person told him that he had information concerning the murder in orange walk and then demanded he be paid twenty five thousand dollars – presumably not to spill the beans. The investigation suggests that the money would have then been split between Police Constable Eloy Flores and Police Corporal Matthew Lopez. Sources tell 7News that the man at some point allegedly approached both police officers informed them about certain information he had received about the Orange Walk murder and all three allegedly decided to get money from the mastermind.
However 7News understands that the evidence against the law enforcement officers is very thin and there is nothing that concretely implicates PC Flores and Cpl. Lopez. Furthermore the man who reportedly approached the Chinese businessman has not been detained much less arrested whether it is because he has been assisting in the investigation, we do not know.
Special Constable Eloy Flores and Corporal Matthew Lopez were both offered bail in the amount of five thousand dollars each plus one surety each in the same amount. Meanwhile former police constable Kevin Alvarez aka Cowboy, the man police say did the killing, remains behind bars on remand at the Hattieville Prison. He has since been joined by police constable Manuel Hill and former police constable Homer Banner who was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder and one count of abetment to murder.
