Nearly 11 months after a fatal highway collision that claimed the life of an on-duty police officer, a Belizean nightclub owner has formally accepted responsibility for the tragedy in a court hearing.
Khris Rosado, a local disc jockey and businessman who operates the popular venue Thirsty Thursday, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday, June 17, 2026, to the charge of causing death by careless conduct. The plea brings the first major legal closure to a case that has drawn public attention across the small Central American nation.
The fatal incident unfolded on July 28, 2025, when 38-year-old Police Constable Arcenio Cus, a resident of Silver Creek Village, was traveling on his motorcycle from Ladyville en route to Belize City. According to official collision reports, a black SUV driven by Rosado crossed the center dividing line and entered the oncoming lane where Cus was riding, resulting in a direct, high-impact crash. The force of the collision ejected Cus from his motorcycle, inflicting catastrophic head and abdominal injuries. First responders immediately transported the injured officer to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, the country’s main public medical facility, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Following the crash, prosecutors brought five separate criminal charges against Rosado: manslaughter by negligence, causing death by careless conduct, driving without due care and attention, failure to stop and render aid after a collision, and failure to report the accident to law enforcement. After an initial preliminary hearing at the Magistrate’s Court, the case was committed for trial, with justices green-lighting proceedings on the most severe charge of manslaughter by negligence. Prosecutors with the Director of Public Prosecutions’ office ultimately opted to proceed to the High Court with an indictment on the lesser charge of causing death by careless conduct, to which Rosado has now pleaded guilty.
Court records show Rosado was represented during the plea hearing by defense attorney Dr. Lynden Jones, while Crown Counsel Maria Nembhard-Santana argued the case on behalf of the prosecution. A sentencing hearing has not yet been announced to the public as of Tuesday’s court proceedings.