Dangriga Man Pleads Guilty to 2021 Murder on Commerce Street

Also in the south, today a man pleaded guilty to a four-year-old murder in Dangriga. Rupert Lopez yesterday pleaded guilty to the murder of Kenrick John Drysdale. The shooting occurred on January 28, 2021, on Commerce Street. Lopez, who was represented by attorney John Nembhard, will be sentenced on August 5, before Justice Antoinette Moore in the Dangriga High Court. Police say Lopez confessed to the crime, stating in an interview, “Well Officer, I went for a gun and shot him…” According to police, Lopez was seen walking on Commerce Street near “One Love Car Wash” around 9:00 AM when the shots were heard. Drysdale’s brother, De Andri Miranda, found him injured and kneeling face down near the steps of the building. Drysdale was taken to Southern Regional Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 9:50 AM. De Andri Miranda, who was in an adjacent house, heard the shots and saw a person he knew as Rupert with a firearm, firing shots toward his yard. Kristy Miranda, Drysdale’s sister, also heard the shots and saw a male with a silver object resembling a pistol. She then found her brother bleeding on the steps. Later that morning, police were led to the home of Lopez’s mother in Silk Grass Village, Stann Creek District, where they detained Lopez, then a minor. He was officially arrested and charged with murder on January 30, 2021.