A Belizean man and woman have been found guilty of the murder of the American owner of a restaurant and bar on San Pedro.
In May of 2018, 49 year old Lamont Lipka was executed in the heart of the town, inside the restaurant he owned, named Tropicana Restaurant and Bar. Lipka stood behind the cash register counting money and patrons were dining at their tables when a gunman came in and shot him at point blank range - there was no robbery.
Today, after a 4 month trial without jury, Justice Ricardo Sandcroft pronounced Leon Walford guilty of the murder. His co-defendant, 25-year-old Tracey Betancourt was a no show in court today for her own murder verdict. Justice Sandcroft issued a bench warrant for Betancourt's arrest this afternoon. Betancourt is presently out on $50,000 Supreme Court bail.
A critical piece of evidence was surveillance video which showed a gunman wearing a black cap and black shirt firing 6 shots into Lipka's head before running out of the restaurant and escaping onto Coconut Drive. In his own defense, Wallford gave a dock statement where he said that at the time of the murder he was at home on Amara Avenue so he could not have been on the island committing the murder.
In the end, the prosecution established that it was him based on the pronounced limp he walks with, which matches the limp seen in the video.
Sentencing for Leon Walford is set for September 30, 2022. As for Betancourt, Justice Sandcroft has deferred the delivery of her verdict for a later date. Both Betancourt and Walford had been charged jointly for Lipka's murder.
Betancourt was represented by Attorney Anthony Sylvester while Walford was represented by Darrel Bradley.
The Crown was represented by Crown Counsels Riis Cattouse, and Robert Lord.
