A businessman from Unitedville Village in the Cayo district spent 36 hours in police custody after he shot and killed a man who he says he caught in the act of burglarizing his business.
Usually that's considered defence of one's property - but in this case, it's not that straightforward. Andrea Polanco went west today to find out why:..
Andrea Polanco Reporting
Around 3:15 yesterday morning, the owner of Three Flags at mile 59 on the Western Highway, Ulrich Willoughby - received a call saying that his business was being burglarised.
Before all the robbers could take off- Willoughby caught one of them by surprise. Willoughby says he was attacked by 24 year old Paul Benjamin who was armed with a shiny object.
Willoughby fired thirteen shots at Benjamin; six of them found their target and Benjamin died on the spot. The other two robbers escaped.
Police found a machete near Benjamin; Willoughby has been detained since and is expected to be released sometime today. But what Benjamin's family can't understand is how he was killed, they said that he was never one to be in problems and they're still in shock, and his common-law wife said she can clearly remember the last time she saw him on Saturday evening and what he said:
Eva Luz Machoro: Common-law Wife
"He hold the baby but the baby didn't want him to put him down so he started to cry, he told the baby that he will come back and that he just going to play football. He told the baby that he loves him and that was all he told him before he puts the baby down. The baby didn't want to go down, he tells the baby that he loves him and that he will come back and he went and that was the last time I see him."
Sandra Benjamin: Sister of deceased
"My brother is not that type of person. I don't know what happened, why he did that or really what happened why he was there. My brother work all through his ups and down, all through his pain that child work - not that brother of mine."
Andrea Polanco
"So he is not somebody who would get into these kinds of problems."
Sandra Benjamin: Sister of deceased
"Nope not at all. Not my brother Paul."
Andrea Polanco
"So when you got the news that your brother was killed, it came at a total surprise to you?"
Sandra Benjamin: Sister of deceased
"I can't explain the way I felt."
The family said that while they don't know the full extent of the story, they believe Paul shouldn't have been shot so many times:
Eva Luz Machoro: Common-law Wife
"What I think was that everything was planned for this, that is what I think."
Sandra Benjamin: Sister of deceased
"According to people in the village, yes he was shot by the owner. We can't say, we were not there, so we just have to bear with what they tell us."
Andrea Polanco
"Have you spoken to the owner? Did you get any word from his family?"
Sandra Benjamin: Sister of deceased
"No, he can't even speak to any of us. My sister and my brother went to him and ask him what happened and up to right now he gives no answer. So what happened to my brother - we don't know. I said that they never had to shoot him so much time. My brother has a broken leg, according to what we see the first shot he got was his broken leg, that was enough for him."
The Benjamin's said that they want answers because as far as they know Paul had neither a shiny object nor a machete. But Paul is dead and justice needs to be served because they believe he was killed intentionally:
Eva Luz Machoro, Common-law Wife
"Paul didn't have anything because if they say it was a shine object, he didn't have any shine object with him because, knife, he didn't take any knife from my house, machete, just now my mother-in-law was cutting some trees with the machete, so he didn't take any machete. But if they say a shine object, why haven't they showed the object, why? It should have been in the place where Paul was, but no, nothing was there."
Andrea Polanco
"So the police said all they found was a rusty machete at the scene of the crime."
Eva Luz Machoro, Common-law Wife
"But why they couldn't show us, they didn't show us any rusty machete. They should have shown us, they didn't tell us anything about any machete, no rusty object, nothing."
Sandra Benjamin, Sister of deceased
"We want justice. All we are asking for is the police support and to please deal with this fairly for us because the way we see it, intentionally he did kill my brother and that's all I am asking for the support of the police to please deal fairly with us and keep us informed with everything they know about this incident."
Today we spoke to Officer in charge of Cayo, Chester Williams, and he told us that Three Flags was indeed burglarized and the events that followed:
Chester Williams: Senior Superintendent of Police - OC: Cayo
"The incident did in fact occurred outside, behind the establishment, but it is also important to note that the establishment was also burglarized and the police has also recovered some of the items that was stolen from inside the store, within the vicinity of the store, so there is no question as to whether or not a burglary did took place. We are certain that yes one did occur and yes as I said before the actual shooting itself took place, behind the establishment but in the said yard of the establishment."
Andrea Polanco
"So is it certain that Paul Benjamin was one of the thieves?"
Chester Williams: Senior Superintendent of Police - OC: Cayo
"I do not want to say certainly that he was one but all indications are so far that he was indeed one of the thief or thieves who in fact enterred the establishment at mile 59. From our investigations so far the victim or the decease did in fact receive a total of 6 gunshot wounds based on what we observed so far and the matter as to the justification by law is something that the Director Of Public Persecution will deal with. Most naturally she will look at all the evidence and decide whether or not the force used was proportionate to the threat that was being faced by Mr. Willoughy at the time when the incident did occur. So we as the police, it is not something for us to look at but rather for the director of public persecution. We in fact recovered a machete from the scene near the deceased, whether or not that's the object Mr. Willoughby is speaking about, that is for him to explain, but from what we are seeing or what we believe I think that the machete is exactly is what he is referring as a shiny object."
But one might say that what happened yesterday morning could've been prevented because the San Ignacio Police was alerted before the shooting but responded some forty five minutes later:
Chester Williams: Senior Superintendent of Police - OC: Cayo
"Indeed our investigations so far have indicated that the police did in fact receive a call sometime after two or shortly before 3 and for some reason or the other the police officer, who was in charge Cpl. Toledano, did not respond to the call. It was approximately 45 minutes after the first call reached the police station that the incident did in fact took place - the shooting, which means that had the police responded as the call came in I believe that the whole scenario would have been prevented therefore I have directed and I have insured that this morning Cpl. Toledano was placed on disciplinary charge for neglect of duty in that being the supervisor in charge of the relief he failed to respond to a call which eventually leads up to the death of Paul Benjamin."
At newstime, businessman Ulrich Willoughby was released on the instruction of the DPP pending the results of the autopsy which will be conducted tomorrow.
Police Corporal Toledano is facing two counts of police disciplinary charges and pleaded guilty before an adjudicator today. The matter has been adjourned.
Police are currently looking for a second suspect. When they searched the area, they found liquor and pepper sauce that had presumably been stolen from the store.
