Another nolle pros was entered today, this time in the case of 26 year old Ernest “Mob” Sacasa, who had been charged with the attempted murder of 20 year old Carl Whittaker. The nolle pros was entered as the victim could not be located, which allowed Sacasa to walk out of court a free man. A second person, one Glenford “Campari” Williams, who was jointly charged with Sacasa was shot and killed by police last year.
The attempted murder they had been charged with occurred in September of 2007 around 9:30 pm when Whittaker was at his friend’s home when he saw two men walking toward him, both carrying firearms. Whittaker said he hid in a room, and overheard the gunmen asking for him. Whittaker then waited until he thought the men were gone, and then borrowed his friend’s bike to ride home, where
he saw one of the gunmen hiding by his fence. The gunman then opened fire, letting off with 5 rounds that all missed.
Missing Witness in Jamil Betancourt Case
And in other court news, the trial of 26 year old Jamil Betancourt, charged with 2 counts of murder and 1 count of attempted murder, which was to start today was put off – and again, it’s because of a missing witness. The chief witness for the prosecution, Michael Goff, failed to appear in court.
Goff is the complainant for Betancourt’s charge of attempted murder, and he was subpoenaed to appear in court from yesterday. Goff, however, was nowhere to be found when his name was called. His failure to appear in court has resulted in a bench warrant being issued for his arrest. The case was adjourned until Thursday, and if Goff does not show up then either, then the prosecution will more than likely lose the case.
Betancourt, who is represented by Lionel Welch, is charged for the murders of Adrian Espinosa and Elroy Flowers, who were killed in January of 2007 around 11 p.m. Goff, Espinosa, and Flowers were playing video games in an apartment when a gunman entered and opened fire. Only Goff survived by pretending he was dead; he was shot in his hands, left ear, and left chest.
And while Goff got away, over time, Betancourt has had an uncanny string of luck with avoiding prosecution. He was supposed to go on trial for attempted murder in 2007, but the case was withdrawn by the DPP’s office after the two main witnesses refused to testify against Betancourt. And earlier in 2007, he walked free from another attempted murder charge after the main witness died.
2 of 3 Stolen Cars Recovered
Yesterday we reported three vehicles missing, luckily for the owners, two of those three have been recovered. The Nissan Pathfinder belonging to Xiong Jie Huang that was stolen from in front of a Chinese restaurant on Saturday was found in the cotton tree village area on the Western Highway. The car was parked in some bushes, and found by Belmopan police. The Toyota Camry that was reported missing by Charles Jones was found in the New Site area behind the Complex building. Police are still investigating Hugo Gonzalez’s missing Toyota pick-up truck.
