A late-night shooting that left a Belize City man fighting for his life has moved one step closer to trial, after the surviving victim helped investigators identify and arrest one of his alleged attackers. Twenty-two-year-old Oscar Ervin Gonguez, an undertaker who resides on Curl Thompson Street, appeared for arraignment Monday at the Belize City Magistrate’s Court, where he faces three serious charges: attempted murder, dangerous harm, and use of deadly means of harm.
The incident that sparked the charges dates back to May 22, in the Jane Usher Boulevard neighborhood. Twenty-year-old Alonzo Nigel Myers was in the final act of securing his property that evening, closing the gate outside his home, when two assailants approached rapidly and opened fire. The gunmen immediately fled the scene after the attack, leaving Myers with life-threatening gunshot wounds.
First responders rushed the injured victim to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) in critical condition, and against the odds, Myers pulled through and survived the attack. While recovering, investigators were able to record an official statement from Myers, in which he positively named Gonguez as one of the two shooters who opened fire on him that night.
Gonguez was taken into police custody last week, and prosecutors formally filed the three charges against him shortly after the arrest. Given the severe nature of the offenses, which carry lengthy prison sentences if convicted, Magistrates rejected any bail application and ordered Gonguez to be held at the Belize Central Prison pending his next court date, scheduled for September 24.
This report is adapted from a televised evening news broadcast, originally transcribed for online publication.