Arthur Young's shooting death still suspicious

Few specifics are confirmed on the killing of Arthur Young, the reputed leader of the Taylor's Alley Gang who was the suspect for the Friday night of George Street boss, Shelton "Pinky" Tillett. Police are tight lipped saying only that he was shot in the pan of a vehicle when he attempted to disarm an officer. In the absence of credible information, News Five's Isani Cayetano followed the trail and the timeline as to what went down when Young was found at an abandoned house in Vista del Mar. But until tonight, there is no confirmation as to who has viewed his full body at the KHMH; his mother could not on Monday and the morgue was under guard. News Five's Isani Cayetano revisits this story.

 

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

The upshot of a string of vicious gang-related homicides across the Old Capital over the weekend plunged residents into an acute state of fear.

Shelton "Pinky Tillett & Kamille Andrews

Less than twenty-four hours following the initial spate of shootings the internet was alive with unverified reports that several others, including a few known George Street captains, had been terminated in what was rumored to be an all-out cleansing. The bloodbath would indeed persist; however, at five o'clock on Saturday evening the official number stood at four. By that time the remains of Orlando Reyes, Shelton August and Kamille Andrews had been carted off to the Belize City morgue. Elsewhere, Scenes of Crime technicians were occupied with the processing of Peter Flowers' murder. He was gunned down on Caesar Ridge Road not far from where he worked as a stevedore at Port of Belize Ltd. While it is arguable that Bam, as Reyes was also known, is a victim of circumstance the calculated execution of August, eight hours later, was a stern message sent directly to affiliates of the George Street Gang.

 

Arthur Young

Who tailed the couple to the service station? Who alighted the silver Pathfinder and discharged on the unsuspecting pair? According to police, that individual is believed to have been Arthur Young, a nefarious character, arguably the most feared in the streets of Belize City since 'Junie Balls' McKenzie. Based on descriptions of the shooter Young was a complete match of the profile. In the hours that followed he went into hiding and like the enigma that he often was all that remained were a series of text messages claiming that he had surrendered himself to the authorities. It would later be discovered that Young was killed while in police custody. His death is also shrouded in mystery.

 

What transpired during the time the arresting officers, presumably the Gang Suppression Unit, picked him up from an abandoned residence in Vista del Mar to when news of his shooting death became known is currently under investigation. The brass of the police department however, remains tightlipped about the circumstances under which he was expunged, stating only that Young was mortally wounded while struggling with an officer for his service weapon. While that is an official account, other versions suggest that he had been subdued and handcuffed before being placed in the pan of the vehicle. If that is so, was he restrained with both arms in front of him? Had a struggle ensued between Young and the officers resulting in him getting shot while being transported in the pickup then what explains the bloodstained dirt road at the entrance of the community? Of equal uncertainty is whether or not there will be full disclosure of the facts surrounding his death once the investigation is completed.

 

From what we have pieced together there is even doubt as to whether Young was indeed Pinky's shooter. Young was to hand himself in to police on Monday because he heard he was wanted. There are two witnesses who say that they heard him screaming when he was being beaten by the police at about one o'clock. They also say that they saw when he was thrown into the pan of the police vehicle in handcuffs so that disarming the police is highly unlikely. In the circumstances, however, it appears that he was a wanted man.

 

Beyond the inquiry into the weekend bloodbath is the question of the existing truce. How long does the government intend to justify the targeted shootings as random acts of violence before admitting to the Belizean public that the armistice has been over for some time now? How can it be said that other groups operating within the infrastructure of the truce are at a ceasefire when alliances have long been forged between various factions, including the George Street Gang? With the weekend's demise of Shelton August and Arthur Young, powerful gang leaders of the past, there comes an uncertainty that the bitter rivalry is far from over. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.

Channel 5

Arthur Young died from 3 accidental gunshots?

The funeral of Shelton "Pinky" Tillett took place this afternoon and in anticipation of any violence, police and B.D.F. are on full alert throughout the city and particularly in the George Street area. Meanwhile, the results of the post mortem on Taylor's Alley Gang leader, Arthur Young, who was believed to have killed Pinky, have been released. According to the results, Young died from internal and external bleeding due to gunshot wounds to the chest. That suggests that Young was shot more than once and according to our sources, he was shot three times, in the chest and the mouth. One person who has viewed the body says that there were physical injuries on his face, neck, arms and chest but that the body was covered from the torso down. Police claim that Young was shot when he tried to disarm an officer while in detention in the pan of a police vehicle on Sunday night. That statement has come under question because he would have been in handcuffs and it is highly unlikely that the police weapon would have discharged more than once in the scuffle.

Channel 5