Giovanni Ramirez Becomes Belize’s Third Homicide Victim of 2025 in Daylight Shooting

Giovanni Ramirez is the third homicide victim for this year.  As many as twelve gunshots reportedly rang out this afternoon as Ramirez drove on Amandala Drive at around one thirty.  At the crime scene, a red Ford Explorer SUV was observed partially on the sidewalk with Ramirez in the driver’s seat.  The dark tinted SUV bore several gunshots in the driver’s window and our newsroom has confirmed that he was the gunman’s target.  The vehicle bore no license plate in the rear but we were informed that the SUV belonged to him.  Ramirez had a criminal past, and was convicted of damage to property last year and had a case of gang affiliation pending in the court.  Just last year, Ramirez was at the center of a major court case that saw Attorney Oscar Selgado convicted of abetment to murder and sentenced to ten years in prison.  In that case, Ramirez had filed a report against Selgado claiming that he (Ramirez) was being hired to carry out a hit against one Marilyn Barnes.  The trial took a surprising turn when Ramirez further claimed that he could not testify in court out of fear.  The judge accommodated Ramirez and had his police statement admitted as evidence resulting in Selgado’s conviction.  One week ago, Police Commissioner Chester Williams reflected on the Selgado case, saying that the Police had a job to do.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police: “Read and tendered into evidence. In this case the witness was in fear of coming to court and there was overwhelming evidence to support the fact that the witness was fearful for his life to come to court and on that basis the DPP made the application to the court and the court accepted. Hence the statement of that witness was read into evidence. Again that must come with other corroborative evidence which came from the woman herself who was supposed to be the victim of this this murder, myself then the investigator Mr. Ferefino. But again, like you said, it’s a landmark case. It’s a rather unfortunate situation for Mr. Selgado. I know him personally. It’s nothing personal but we all have a job to do and we did what needed to have been done.”

Tonight, investigators are looking at several angles to determine a motive.  Ramirez criminal past also saw him as a suspect in last year’s murder of Troy Hyde./