Four Men Sentenced for Manslaughter in Trio Village Chopping Death

Four men who were charged for the chopping death of Santiago Garcia in Trio Village back in 2017 were sentenced in the High Court of Belize today. The men appeared before Justice Antoinette Moore, all charged with murder, but were instead found guilty of manslaughter. Sabanito Cal was sentenced to 15 years; Tyrone Ba was sentenced to 13 years; and Arnoldo Xol was sentenced to 15 years; all three sentences to take effect April 26, 2017.  Meanwhile, Leonardo Ba was sentenced to 15 years with effect from May 17, 2017. They were all found guilty on Monday, June 19, 2023, at the Punta Gorda session of the High Court in a trial without jury. On April 22, 2017, the men all got into an altercation with Garcia that escalated into violence. They all chopped Garcia with machetes and fled the scene, leaving him to die.