At the beginning of last month, we told you about the fatal, drive-by killing of 55-year-old Edward Saldano Sr., who was also known as "Scrub-Board".
Police continue to investigate his execution on Wilson Street in Belize City. As we reported, he was known as a hard-working stevedore who had no ties to gangs or criminal activity. But, he does have a son, Edward Jr., who, according to our sources, has been in and out of prison some 22 times, starting from as far back as when he was a minor. Also, he was wanted by the police for escape up until this morning. That's when he and his attorney went to the police station so that he could surrender himself into their custody.
But before he did that, he asked his attorney to arrange a sort of press conference so he could tell the media his side of the story:
Daniel Ortiz has that story:
After evading police authorities for 7 weeks, 22-year-old Edward Saldano Jr. made the advised decision today to hand himself over to authorities and face their accusation frontally that he escaped from custody.
Edward Saldano Jr - On Remand for Robbery
"The reason I came - I am just tired of hiding from them. I wasn't really hiding from them. I was just somewhere far, and I just said, 'Let me deal with this matter and see what the problem is because they put up a wanted poster to question me about some murder that I don't know about."
Orson "OJ" Elrington - Attorney for Saldano
"After our interview here, we will make our way over to the police station and Mr. Saldano will hand in himself while being accompanied by myself, who is his legal counsel."
Court reports from the day in question were that Saldano snuck away and bolted from the Magistrate Court's holding cell while officers were allowing him a brief bathroom break. He claims that this was a misstatement of fact, however, and that he was told by an officer that he was free to leave.
Orson "OJ" Elrington
"Mr. Saldano was under the impression that he was being let free. He was given instructions or authorization by an officer of the law."
Edward Saldano Jr.
"I came, and I went into the Magistrate's Court. She told me, she cannot give me bail. I asked her why she can't give me bail. She just told me that she can't give me bail. So, when I walked out, the same policeman who took me to court, he said the judge is trying to take advantage of me because everybody got bail, and I'm the only one who she didn't want to give bail [to]. I already did my 3 months, which is the law, after 3 months, as long as you do the 90, if it's robbery, you can get bail. So, when I went in there, the police told me, 'I think you should go and ask her if it's true. He told me, 'Go, I am not playing with you. Go. So, I just walked out and left, and in the night, I saw that they posted my picture that I'm wanted for escape. The reason I took so long is that behind that place, they dealt with me inhumanely. They took chanced me. They had me in a spot where you stool in buckets. They had that in there for an entire week, They pepper-sprayed me, and did me all kinds of things."
And while he is ready to face the escape charge that will definitely come, he says that he won't plead guilty because he didn't run.
Daniel Ortiz
"Before you even get to the robbery case, you have to deal with possible prison time for the escape."
Edward Saldano Jr.
"I'll be real with you. I am ready to face the escape charge, but it's not that I escaped. I won't plead guilty for escape when it wasn't me who escaped. The officer willingly freed me, told me to leave, and I walked out of the station - out of the court, and he told me to go."
As seen on this wanted poster of Saldano, the cops say that he is also "wanted for questioning in respect to a murder." He claims to have absolutely no idea about which case they're referring to, or why he could be of help to that investigation.
Daniel Ortiz
"Do you have any idea which case they're specifically referring to?"
Edward Saldano Jr.
"No, sir, I just came back to Belize City because I was all the way in Corozal."
Orson "OJ" Elrington
"The police always have the authority to question you regarding any investigation that they have. In fact, it is their responsibility to do so. Mr. Saldano most certainly will offer himself and provide the police with any assistance he can render to assist them in their investigations. What will be the conclusion of those investigations, only the police can - the investigation will tell at the end of time."
But, apart from being wanted by police, Saldano and his family are still grieving the gun killing of his father 55-year-old Edward Saldano Sr., aka, "Scrub-Board". Both men share the same names and nicknames, but at the time of his father's funeral, Edward Jr. couldn't say his final goodbyes while being a fugitive.
Daniel Ortiz
"Is it possible that his killing was linked to some enemy of yours?"
Edward Saldano Jr.
"I feel like they just wanted to take advantage of my father to get to me. They chanced him because my father is a hardworking man. He doesn't bother anyone with trouble. He goes anywhere. He helps everyone. He is here for all of us, and now, they have left us without a father. It's not like they don't know who chanced my father. They do know who chanced my father, and they don't want to do anything about it."
As you heard, Edward Saldano Jr. claims ill-treatment by the prison as his reason for remaining on the run after learning that he was accused of escaping from lawful custody. We contacted the Prison authorities for comment, but they declined.
