He was just a 54-year-old heavy equipment operator with a licensed weapon, but tonight Rupert Alexander Gentle is in jail on remand after he shot a woman while operating a bulldozer.
It happened in a land dispute when 33-year-old Lemonal resident Stacy Middleton attempted to stop Gentle from clearing a parcel of land he had been hired to clear.
He says that she threw acid in his face when she told him to stop the clearing; she says that Gentle allegedly turned his bulldozer toward her in an intimidating manner, and that's when she threw water at him from a Crystal bottle.
But Gentle felt a burning sensation on his face and in response, pulled his licensed 9mm pistol and fired what he calls a warning shot, hitting Middleton in the leg.
Whatever the case, the court will now decide. Gentle was escorted to the Belize City Magistrates Court this morning where he was read two criminal offenses: use of deadly means of harm and wounding. Due to the nature of the offenses no plea was taken and he was denied bail. He was remanded to the Belize Central Prison and is expected to appear back in Court on July 10th.