A chain of events early Saturday morning led to the police detention of Belize City's deputy mayor after the rear window of his SUV was shattered by gunshots.
Deputy Micah Goodin was with his crew when they had a misunderstanding which escalated into a shootout that injured one person - and Goodin was in the middle of it all.
Tonight, one of his buddies is on jail on remand, as is the man who allegedly shot the deputy's vehicle.
Goodin escaped charges, but as the man who holds the second highest office in the municipality, he can't escape scrutiny that easily - and tonight there are pressing questions about whether he was afforded special treatment due to his political connect. Courtney Menzies has the whole story from the police department to city hall:
Gunshots on Newton Barracks in the early hours of Saturday morning left residents of the area concerned - but perhaps what was most shocking was that Belize City's deputy mayor was involved.
Micah Goodin was with two friends when an altercation started between them and another group. It was while Goodin's group was leaving that 5 or more shots were fired and one person was injured.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"The police investigation revealed that there may have been some altercation or misunderstanding between two group of person who were socialising at this establishment and during the event, Micah Goodin may have intervened to quell the dispute between the parties and he got into his vehicle along with two other persons and drove off. While driving off, one of the occupants of Micah Goodin's vehicle fired several shots and one of the persons with whom they had misunderstanding returned fire to Micah Goodin's vehicle, causing four bullet holes and one person who was inside the vehicle got a bullet graze to the neck. That person was transported to the KHMH where he was treated and subsequently released. Police have since detained Micah Goodin, Tarique James, and Kenyon Tillett. Tillett is a traffic warden, Tarique James is an employee of the Belize City Council, and as you have rightly said, Micah Goodin being the Belize City Council's Deputy Mayor, they were detained for the investigation of that particular incident until police could have ascertained what exactly transpired. At the end of the investigation, Tillett was charged for aggravated assault, wounding, and discharging firearm in public. Tarique James was charged for discharging firearm in public. The investigation did not reveal that Micah Goodin was involved in the shooting incident and so he was released after 36 hours in custody."
And while he was released - 20 year old shadow councillor Tae Medina was grazed by a gunshot and two other men are in jail tonight. They are Goodin's frequent companion Tarique James - seen here in the the paisley button down shirt - who is a 25 year old employee of the LIU Community Clean-up Program, and Kenyon Tillett, the bearded individual who is a Transport Officer - the man Goodin's crew had the misunderstanding with. And while these working men are in jail - the gun licenses for all three men may be revoked.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I have since directed the police to take away all firearms from the three individuals who are in possession of license firearms. The firearms will be sent to the forensic lab for ballistic purposes as we still need to ascertain if all three guns were fired or only two were fired. I have also directed OC CIB to submit to my office a report of the incident and I am going to write all three license holders to show reasons why their firearm license should not be revoked. I want to say this. That every licensed firearm holder must bear in mind that having a firearm is a privilege. And it comes with a heavy responsibility. Going to a nightclub or a bar and drink and having a firearm on your person is an offence and it goes squarely against what is expected of a license firearm holder. And so if it is that there is any evidence to suggest that these persons were consuming alcohol and they had their weapons on them, that should be sufficient grounds to have their license revoked and once that is the case, I certainly will ensure that their license is revoked."
But while the ComPol is not holding back on the deputy mayor, his statement was inaccurate - reliable sources tell us that Goodin was not held for 36. In fact, he called our news director at 8:22am on Saturday - less than 6 hours after the events unfolded - and received and read a text message from our Director one minute after; detained persons do not have use of their phones.
So did he get special treatment afforded to the political class?
Courtney Menzies:
"Some would say that Micah might have gotten some type of special treatment because if it was a regular gang man or known criminal from the street, they would have been locked up for the whole weekend."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"No that's not true, he was in custody for a very long time, and if it is that investigation reveal that he is not involved then the law dictates that we keep you in custody no longer than necessary and that was done."
But even though the police department has concluded that Goodin wasn't involved in the shooting, Goodin's boss, Mayor Bernard Wagner, isn't taking chances. He's traveling to Barbados, and while normally that would make Deputy Goodin acting mayor, Wagner has reservations.
In an email to the City Administrator, copied to all councillors, he writes, quote, "Given the circumstances that occurred over the weekend and the uncertainty of the outcome, and moreover given the short term nature of my trip to Barbados, I have decided to retain all duties and responsibilities that fall under my desk." End quote.
But Goodin fired back at the mayor, saying, quote, "Do note that the act clearly states that when you are out of the country I assume duties as Mayor. Therefore I will act in such capacity this week. If you disagree you can make an effort to amend the Belize City Council Act. Also, do note that there is absolutely no uncertainty over the outcome of this weekend as I did not break any laws nor am I being held as a suspect or charged for anything." End quote.
So, tonight it's unclear just who is in charge here at the Hall - but at this time no punitive action has been taken against the Deputy Mayor.
Our newsroom has tried to contact Goodin multiple times, but up to news time, he had not responded.
