Belize City Businessman Charged with Attempted Murder After Saturday Shooting

A Belize City businessman is behind bars tonight following a shooting on the night of Saturday, March 9. Fifty-seven-year-old, Richard Terry Williams, appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court today, charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of use of deadly means of harm, one count of discharging a firearm in public, and one count of possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Due to the nature of the offense, he could not enter a plea, and bail was denied in the first instance. Williams is accused of shooting 20-year-old, Dishawn Amaud Coffin, in the abdomen. Outside the court, his attorney, Norman Rodriguez, gave a breakdown of the facts that will be presented at the trial. 

Williams was remanded until May 23, but sources tell Love News he could have a bail hearing as early as Friday. An official police report says that officers in Newtown Barracks responded to a shooting in front of Shisha’s Lounge and arrived to find Williams with his licensed firearm in hand. The police ordered that he drop the weapon, and after firing a warning shot, Williams was shot with a rubber bullet. Both Williams and Coffin were transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital for treatment, after which Williams was detained and charged.