The circumstance surrounding the death of well known Belize City street figure Arthur Young remains shrouded in controversy. The police department announced today that Young, who was wanted in connection with Friday night's double-murder, was apprehended at a house in Ladyville. But before he could reach Belize City, Young was dead. Minister of National Security John Saldivar provided some details at a mid-morning press conference at the Biltmore hotel.
Citizens of the old capital are still nervous tonight over repercussions they believe might erupt from the unprecedented killing of two of the city’s major gang figures — boss of the George Street gang, Shelton “Pinky” Tillett, at the hands of Taylor’s Alley gang leader, Arthur Young, according to police, and the death of Arthur Young himself, at the hands of the police.
It has been a bloody weekend, from Friday to today, Monday, with a number of shootings and four murders over the 4-day period, apart from the death of Young. But this morning at a press conference, Police Minister John Saldivar told the media that the government’s gang truce “is holding.”
In the middle of the morning press conference, however, while the Minister was telling the media that there was a “new” plan in place and that the police and BDF were out in force patrolling the city, news was received that there was yet another shooting in the city.
This morning, Monday, Corrington Bowden, 40, was shot on Freetown Road. His condition is listed as stable.
We go back to the main saga as it began to unfold late Friday night.
George Street don Shelton “Pinky” Tillett, 31, was shot to death shortly after 11 on Friday night, April 20, at a gas station in the city, and with him died a female friend who was in his vehicle.
Information to this newspaper is that Shelton “Pinky” Tillett and his companion, Kamill Andrews, a poster girl/model for a popular city boutique, were followed from Ladyville. Police say that when he stopped at the Coral Grove Gas Station for fuel, about a mile up the Northern Highway, around 11:15 p.m. on Friday, Pinky Tillett got out of his vehicle to go into the store to purchase some items; at that point a gunman, wearing a mask on his face, exited a vehicle that had pulled up behind them, and opened fire on Tillett and Andrews, hitting them multiple times.
Tillett was shot in his head and chest, while Andrews was shot in her chest. They were rushed to the Karl Heusner Hospital, where they were both pronounced dead on arrival.
Tillett’s friends on George Street told Amandala that Tillett had been hanging out with them and relaxing earlier that evening, when around 11:00 p.m. he got into his vehicle and drove away, and shortly after, around 11:15 p.m. that same Friday night, April 20, they got a call informing them that he had been killed. They rushed to the hospital but he had already been declared dead.
Tillett’s mother, Lavern August, said that she was in the Princess Hotel that Friday night when she received a call that her son was at the morgue. She said that she did not go, and has still not gone to see him, because it was too hard for her. She said that this is the second son that she has now lost to gun violence; the first was Dean Tillett.
Just eight hours before Tillett’s murder , on Orange Street, three persons had been shot; one, Orlando Reyes, 19, died.
After Pinky Tillett’s murder on Friday night, police shut down the city, ordering all the city’s night clubs to close. A task force of heavily armed police and BDF officers patrolled the city in an effort to contain the violence that they were certain would occur with the gang leader’s death, especially since it was rumoured that police were looking for the boss of a rival gang, Taylor’s Alley Gang, in connection with the killing.
On Saturday, however, Peter Flowers, Jr., 26, was executed around 4 p.m. on Caesar Ridge Road, suffering a reported 21 gunshots, and shortly after 9 that night, Larry Sutherland, 40, was shot on Racoon Street Extension. He is listed as being in a stable condition.
That same Saturday night, there were reports that some of the city’s shops and supermarkets had closed early, fearing added violence.
Then, on Sunday night, shortly after 11, Arthur Young, reputed leader of the Taylor’s Alley Gang, was killed by police, whose official version of his death is that he attacked an officer in the pan of the vehicle in which he was being transported, and tried to take away the officer’s gun.
According to a police report, “Young was shot in his chest during a scuffle with police while being transported to the Queen Street Police Station from Ladyville, by police, around 12:30 a.m. Sunday April, 22 on the Northern Highway.”. The report claims that while the police officershad been conducting a search operation at an abandoned house in Vista del Mar, “shuffling was heard inside”, and that “the house was eventually breached and inside of one of the bedrooms, Arthur Young was found. He attempted to escape, but was apprehended.” The report claims that while the police officershad been conducting a search operation at an abandoned house in Vista del Mar, “and that
The police press release, dated Sunday, April 22, 2012, went on to claim that, “whilst being escorted to the Eastern Police Division in Belize City a struggle ensued between Young and officers inside the pan of the police vehicle as he attempted to disarm one of the officers. The firearm discharged and resulted in Young sustaining injuries. Young was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where he pronounced dead on arrival.”
Young was the known leader of the Taylor’s Alley gang, and had had many run-ins with the law. Recently, he had demanded an apology from the police who were on an anti-drug operation in Taylor’s Alley, after they had rounded up some gang members, including him, Young, and beat them up. Although the police high command had apologized, he had said that that was not enough.
Young, who was a CYDP supervisor, was no stranger to police. He had a long list of charges, but has never been convicted. His most recent charges were for possession of prohibited material and failing to report as a deportee.
He had maintained to the media that he was targeted by the police every time he would report to the station, and that’s why he stopped going. But Young has beaten far more serious offences.
He was captured by Mexican authorities in Chetumal in May of 2011 after being on the run for a month following a major drug and weapons bust at a residence in Vista Del Mar. Young, along with his friend, Errol Haynes, were jointly charged for possession of marijuana, trafficking crack cocaine and possession of prohibited material. And he went into hiding.
He was extradited to Belize in July, and other charges were levied against him. However, in court, the charges were withdrawn and he was freed, but he had announced that he would sue the Police Department.
Young had the dubious distinction of being listed as Belize’s most wanted man in 2007.
Young eluded police and went to the United States, where he was on the lam for around two years.
However, the authorities caught him and he was returned to Belize. He was handed over to the police, and taken immediately to court to answer the charges. The charges were later withdrawn and he was again a free man.
Besides these, there were other run-ins with the law, including for the murder of Jose Chavarria in 2002. He similarly fled Belize after that murder, but was deported in 2005. The murder charge was later dismissed. Young will be buried on Friday, April 27, in Belize City.
Tillett’s family said that his funeral services will be conducted on Saturday, April, 28 at St. John’s Cathedral on Albert Street. The viewing will be held in the church from 1:00 p.m., and the services commence at 2:00 p.m. He will be interred at the Homeland Cemetery on the Western Highway.
As we go to press tonight, the armed patrols continue in the old capital, with many citizens jumpy and afraid to venture out after dark, especially in areas of the city known to be home to the various affiliated gangs.
Other reports of violent deaths include the news that yesterday, Sunday, one Luis Valladarez, of Belmopan, was found chopped up on the road side; he later succumbed to his injuries. And a body found decomposed on the Boom-Hattieville road last Thursday, April 19, has been identified as that of Glenford Gustavus Jemmot, 49, of Hattieville. The cause of death was due to massive brain damage due to head trauma as a consequence of a blunt object.
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.
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.
And while the boss of George Street has been laid to rest, the city's other gang boss who was killed over the weekend - Arthur Young will be cremated.
According to reports, that is the choice of his family - who has also decided against a wake and a public funeral.
The date for his cremation is not known - but it is private.
His post mortem was conducted yesterday - and according to police, he died from, quote, "the certified cause of death was Internal and external bleeding due to gunshot wounds to the chest."
According to our reports he was shot three times to the chest. Police say it happened in the back of a pickup truck.
Police say he was shot during a struggle for a lawman's gun - but our investigation tells us that he was handcuffed when he was taken out of an abandoned Vista Del Mar home - and then shot half a mile away at the entrance to Vista Del Mar - where a bloodstain was visible on the road.
Channel 7
Funeral For The Boss Of "George Street Gaza"
The funeral for Shelton Pinky Tillett was held this afternoon at St. John's Cathedral in Belize City.
The news is that it went without incident - as with any other funeral, there was great sadness, but there was also palpable tension. But, again, nothing happened. The hearse was followed by a huge procession of George Street Loyalists, family and friends. They proceeded to Lord's Ridge Cemetery - where he was buried in a family plot - above his brother Dean Tillett who was killed in 2009.
Superintendent Alford Grinage - who is in charge of Belize City Operations told us he deployed 30 police officers around the funeral and at strategic locations along the procession route. The officers were on foot patrol, motorycycle and plain-clothed.
Grinage says it is not that Pinky Tillett had any special privileges - but that the police department's job is to ensure that there was no threat to public safety or any escalation of gang hostilities.
Up to this evening, the family was still at the grave site - and they were urged to get home before nightfall.
Gangs are socio-economic phenomena which are considered, almost by definition, the products of depressed urban areas. They involve the bonding of young males and their loyalty to each other under circumstances which are extremely violent, and criminal. When males who are law-abiding, successful members of society draw close to each other in an organized social context, their organizations are called clubs, not gangs. But the general principles are similar.
Gangs are definitely not exclusively male, but most of those who murder and are murdered, and who go to jail, are males. It is the male members of the gangs whom we see in the news, but gang neighbourhoods have family structures, that is, gang males are responsible for the welfare of their personal women and children.
At the time of their deaths last weekend, Pinky Tillett and Arthur Young were vaunted gang leaders, or dons, inside the George Street and Taylor's Alley gangs, respectively.
Pinky had become famous some years ago when, armed and firing in a vehicle, he chased some Mexicans down Central American Boulevard who were trying to kidnap the George Street mastermind at the time, George "Rique" Herbert, who is now incarcerated in a U.S. penitentiary.
The legend of Arthur Young had grown and grown over some two decades. The daughter of a very prominent Belizean official bore two children for Arthur Young, and was believed to be totally faithful to him, through thick and thin. He lived to be 38 years of age, which is old in the Belize City streets, and he was fearless and fearsome. Men spoke his name with maximum respect. This was a man who could take you out and make sure he was not caught: simple as that.
We said at the beginning of this essay that the gangs are socio-economic phenomena. Gangs are the source of daily bread for a bunch of people in the areas which they control. If a man is responsible for the bread you eat, as Pinky and Arthur were responsible for feeding people in their gang territories, then such a man takes on a heroic aura, no matter what he does in order to obtain that food for you. Without such a man, you suffer from hunger. This, you must understand: In George Street, Pinky was a hero; in Taylor's Alley, Arthur was a don.
As events unfolded over the weekend, we thought of how activities similar to what we saw over the weekend in Belize were romanticized for movie audiences all over planet earth in The Godfather movie trilogy. In New York City and Chicago, primarily, gangs emerged and became powerful and wealthy during the era of Prohibition (1919-1933) in the United States. The law said alcohol was illegal, but Americans still wanted to drink. So gangsters got rich risking jail and death to obtain and distribute the illegal product. The government would put gangsters in jail when they caught them, but it was other gangsters who would kill gangsters, similar to what we see happening here.
In the 1930s, an American gangster by the name of Charles "Lucky" Luciano led an effort to organize the gangsters into "families," with internal ranks of authority. Peace came to the land of gangs in America. But, every now and then, there would still be wars and bloodshed. Such violence would require the intervention of the Crime Commission of gangsters.
After World War II, narcotics trafficking became a lucrative gang activity in America. It was the drug heroin which sparked the first violence between families in Part I of The Godfather. In Part II, the gangs had bought influence from corrupt political leaders in pre-Castro Cuba,where they controlled gambling, prostitution and drug trafficking. Other drugs came on the scene, such as marijuana and then cocaine. The drugs were illegal, which made their trafficking highly profitable, and extremely violent.
Because of the demand for illegal drugs in the wealthy United States market, there is an incredibly violent state of affairs in Mexico, in which the present government appears to require U.S. government and military support in order to run the country. The Mexican drug cartels have become so rich and powerful that they can corrupt government officials and security personnel.
The chaos in Mexico has moved down into Belize and Guatemala. These are poor countries whose populations cannot resist the temptation to deal and traffick drugs. In Belize, the gangs have become so strong that law-abiding Belizeans are intimidated, and understandably so. We saw this happen in Mexico.
This newspaper does not consider itself in a position to comment on the apparent murders of Pinky Tillett and Arthur Young on Friday night and Sunday night, respectively. We can say that our community is shaken to its very core, and it has not returned to any level of emotional normalcy even as we write. We, the people, don't know who is who and what is what.
From The Publisher
One of the things that Odinga Lumumba, may he rest in peace, taught me was always to look for the British. It's not as easy as you may think, because the British are so diplomatic in their approach and almost always understated in their execution. By contrast, the Americans, who are the other major players in Belize, tend to be showy, even flamboyant.
Lumumba, as compared to me, had a specific knowledge of the British because he had been sent to London, England just months before Hurricane Hattie in 1961. Lumumba spent eight years in London before he visited Belize shortly after the UBAD movement had begun in early 1969. During that time in London, to which he returned in September of 1969, Odinga had been active with the British version of the Black Panthers.
During the 1970s, Odinga converted to Islam and took up residence in West Africa, Ghana and Mali to be specific, and this is an area where the British are active and involved. So that, the adult Lumumba saw how the British operated in their former colonial territories.
My personal story was quite different from Lumumba's. The U.S. State Department gave me a university scholarship in 1965. I was eager to travel to the United States, and had no interest whatsoever in Britain. My post-World War II generation had grown up in the 1950s in Belize hearing a lot about Manhattan, Brooklyn, and America, and our fascination became an obsession after Belizeans who had relatives in the U.S. were allowed to migrate there as refugees after Hattie. It was as if America threw open its doors to Belizeans after Hattie.
So, I've never been to Britain. In fact, I've never even been to the British Caribbean, and the chances are, because of my plane phobia, I never will. I know very little about the British, and always have to remind myself to look for them, to remember, in other words, the advice of the late, great Odinga.
For me, one of the most intriguing aspects of British colonial rule here is how immigrants were processed. Remember, all during colonial days the British had absolute control over our immigration, so much so that they actually contemplated having British Honduras become the site for the Jewish state. (Uganda was also considered, before the present territory was chosen for the Israeli state and established in 1948.)
Consider this, that the British had this worldwide empire, "on which the sun never set." They would move individuals and families, for different reasons, from halfway around the world, or further, and settle them, get them started in British Honduras. If you got into trouble serving British interests in Hong Kong, say, the British could decide to get you out of harm's way and give you a new home - Belize.
As the years go by, all the various records and documents are being declassified. As Dr. Sir Hilary Beckles pointed out when he lectured at the Bliss a couple years ago, the colonialists kept meticulous records. If you search hard enough, you can find out most things. The thing is, research costs money, and the people who generally fund specific academic research belong to the same power structure which is in place. They don't rush to fund research which will expose themselves.
In any case, as our community went through its terribly traumatic convulsions over the last weekend, I tried to find an overview. The players in this game who are on the ground may be seen as pawns, because they are activated by motives which are controlled by the "big boys". So, this is a definition of powerlessness, the reality of only being allowed to do that which somebody else decides.
Our present situation in Belize City is truly alarming. Most of us have no choice but to go about our daily business as best we can. But, we citizens are deeply disturbed. Can you imagine the effect on our children and grandchildren? Children find excitement in things which give us older folk blood pressure, but if you focus on the children who have to live in the city's war zones, and actually look at the children who are being orphaned and are losing other loved ones who were very important parts of their lives, the tragedy we are experiencing becomes more striking.
As Belizeans, we sought political independence, there's no denying that. We thought it would be easier to administrate ourselves than it has actually proven to be. We didn't properly appreciate the fact that, because they were foreigners, the British were essentially impartial, at least where "natives" were concerned. It was possible to conceive justice as the symbolic blind lady in colonial days. Today, it appears that we are unable to impose real discipline upon ourselves. That is a serious part of our problem.
Brave statements and wise ones too. It is indeed hard for a small population to impose justice on itself. We must, must must do better. NOW. Yesterday's rendering of a murder conviction based on the recorded testimony of an eyewitness who was subsequently killed in an attempt to keep her from testifying is a strong statement by the judiciary, and may save a few lives downline. You can kill people, but you can't kill the truth if it is sought impartially, recorded well, and ultimately respected.
12 Days ago - the most sensational gangland killing in Belize occurred when Shelton Pinky Tillett was killed at the Esso Ramon's Service Center.
The murder caused a wave of panic to ripple through the society at every level - and the hysteria is just starting to ebb.
Tonight we have footage of the murder as it was caught on the gas station's surveillance camera.
We warn you - it is an execution - and you might want to change the channel - and if you have children around - you'll definitely want to do so.
We have been in possession of this video form Friday and have deliberated very heavily whether it should be shown.
In the end, we feel it is an important piece of public information - and so we will show it.
Jules Vasquez has a short commentary with the video:
Jules Vasquez Reporting
The Video picks up where Shelton "Pinky" Tillett is getting into his white pickup at the bottom of your frame.
At the top of the frame a gunman exits a silver Pathfinder - which is parked at a gas pump - and comes running across the gas station, pistol in hand. He runs over to the pickup and opens fire shooting multiple times - killing Tillett
And then reaching across the vehicle to shoot Tillet's female companion Kamille Andrews.
The shooter, then ducks down to hide his face runs off into the pathfinder where a driver is waiting - while another pickup at the top of your frame drives off at the same time.
It was a planned execution as the gunman seems to have brought two vehicles to make sure it was finished.
Police say the shooter was Arthur Young
Police said the shooter wore a mask and was identified as Arthur Young. The shooter does bear a resemblance, but we cannot say conclusively.
The streets have been swarming with rumors about the recent gang related murders and who may have benefitted most from the slayings. The Arthur Young shooting death and the Shelton Tillett murder have been the most talked about in the rumor mill. But tonight, we hope to settle that discussion once and for all. A copy of the gas station footage, which recorded the slaughter of Pinky Tillett and his female companion, Kamille Andrews was turned over to News Five this morning. It chronicled the ongoing dispute between the George Street and Taylor's Alley Gangs. Despite the losses of these two men, the Restore Belize team is making every effort to bring back the two gangs to the truce.
Jose Sanchez, Reporting
There has been plenty speculation as to who killed Shelton "Pinky" Tillett. The leader of George Street was gunned down at the Esso gas station on the Northern Highway. Pinky's nemesis, Arthur Young, the leader of the Taylor's Alley Crew, was named as the suspect. The public had speculated without evidence, but the gas station video clearly shows what transpired at about eleven thirty on Friday, April twentieth.
After making a purchase inside, Pinky Tillett is seen getting into the driver's side of a white pickup. A silver Pathfinder that was trailing Tillett had already pulled up to a gas pump. As Tillett closed the door, the Pathfinder's passenger opens his door and points, followed by a predatory seven step run to Pinky's window. With both hands, the gunman points with right and balances with his left as the chrome handgun releases four rounds-each visible from the recoil. The last bullet is fired downwards to the target, who is slumped over.
Shelton "Pinky" Tillett
The shooter then takes care of collateral damage, Kamille Andrews. He reaches into the vehicle and shoots Andrews four times. After killing his prey, the predator pounces back to the silver Pathfinder, which started to roll as he jumps into the vehicle. Barely visible on the top left of the screen is the attendant who was lucky that his view was blocked. The other attendant at the top right moves from his hiding place behind the pump as the vehicle rolls out of the murder scene. The body type, height, clothing, dread cap and color of skin are all indicative of why the police named Arthur Young as the only suspect. Twenty-four hours later, young the Taylor's Alley leader was killed. Police say he was accidentally shot while trying to escape custody. And after three accidental shots while handcuffed, Young was promptly cremated.
Kamille Andrews
With these two rivaling gangs affecting the gang truce which was agreed upon by thirteen gang affiliated leaders, a ministerial meeting supported by Restore Belize was organized to ease the tension. The Executive Director of Restore Belize says that most of the gangs have returned to the discussion table and Taylor's Alley and George Street have followed suit.
Mary Vasquez, Executive Director, Restore Belize
"In each of the groups that we work with-and we are working with thirteen gangs-we asked each of them to identify who they want to represent them at the table. In the case of George Street, Pinky was one of the representatives. They have stated that they will appoint another person to sit at the table as their representative. So when we have another truce meeting, we expect that there will still be two representatives from there. Likewise for Taylor's Alley, there were two representatives and they have also indicated to us that they will nominate someone to sit at the table in Arthur's place."
Mary Vasquez
Jose Sanchez
"But how do you keep the peace? What did you do specifically after that violent? How did you go about to keep some of the peace?"
Mary Vasquez
"Well the first thing that happened was a lot of communication. There were a lot of conversations by phone as soon as it happened and continually throughout Saturday. The Prime Minister requested that we had a meeting of the leaders on Saturday and we did that. Ten out of thirteen gangs showed up including Taylor's Alley. A couple gangs indicated that they would not be able to showed up and one pulled out at the last minute. But of those three, they all called in to say that they are still in support of the truce and of the peace process. So we spoke with them. The minister of police was there and he gave the perspective from the police regarding the gang truce and the perspective of the government. And the perspective that was expressed to them was that they do intend to continue with the truce program which is the government's part of the commitment and they expect the gangs to maintain their part of the commitment which is peace. The different groups also expressed a request to the police department specifically for increased security so that they could be safe while working. They expressed that they needed that level of security so that they could work and they also requested that the police be there as a force to keep the peace and not as a force against them who are working as a part of the truce program. That was expressed openly and it was well understood and respected by the police department representatives; including the Minister of Police."
Arthur Young
Economics is the first priority followed by safety for the thirteen gangs. Amongst Restore Belize's programs, is a program which provides jobs for at least fifteen members of each gangs. That's one hundred and ninety-five jobs for at risk men and youths who openly say they also need the police to keep the peace. Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.
The opinions and views expressed on this board are the subjective opinions of Ambergris Caye Message Board members and not of the Ambergris Caye Message Board its affiliates, or its employees.
AmbergrisCaye.com 
And while the boss of George Street has been laid to rest, the city's other gang boss who was killed over the weekend - Arthur Young will be cremated.
The funeral for Shelton Pinky Tillett was held this afternoon at St. John's Cathedral in Belize City.
12 Days ago - the most sensational gangland killing in Belize occurred when Shelton Pinky Tillett was killed at the Esso Ramon's Service Center.
