The murder trial of 23 year old Earl Baptist concluded this afternoon at the Belize City High court. Baptist is the man accused of shooting and killing Burrell Boom storeowner Leslie "Dimes" Gillett inside his shop in January of 2022.
The DPP's Crown prosecutor called a total of 15 witnesses - two of them being police officers who extracted video footage of the murder that was captured on 5 security cameras.
The video shows not one but two shooters who carried out Gillett's execution through a burglar barred door. One of the Sergeants testified that he was able to positively identify Baptist as the Shooter, but Baptist denied these claims in court and told police he had an alibi who was his father. Baptist was represented in court by attorney Leeroy Banner.
Justice Derrick Sylvester will now deliberate the evidence and deliver his ruling on June 27th 2024
We note that in November of 2021 two months before, two of Gillett's employees, Kendra Miguel and Dennis Brown were also shot and killed in his store. The three killings are thought to be part of the same dispute. When Gilett was killed, he reportedly had his gun holstered at his side.
