Attorney Richard “Dickie” weighs in on “Da Buzz” Murder Case

Senior criminal attorney Dickie Bradley has weighed in on the fatal shooting of thirty-four-year-old Salma Raquel Orellana Funes and the legal implications surrounding the reported involvement of a sixteen-year-old suspect.  Speaking on the case, Bradley explained that because the accused is a minor, the matter is expected to proceed through the juvenile justice system, where the court process differs significantly from that of an adult offender. He noted that while the charge itself may be serious, the court must also consider the age of the accused, rehabilitation prospects, and protections afforded to minors under Belizean law.

Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney: “I think you would know that they did not take him to the regular court this morning and treat him still as a minor. He is fully, he is at the age where he is fully considered to be responsible in law for his actions. No doubt the court will call for a psychiatric evaluation of that person because it is clearly not a normal thing for us to walk into any establishment and to shoot down someone who according to Kruffy, he knew the person, he knew the person well. So there has been some progress. I want to say that in this particular case what is happening now, especially because he’s a minor and especially because in terms of the investigation, Superintendent of Police Mackenzie and her staff have already basically covered about 80% if not 90% of the investigation. They are satisfied, they have the shooter, they have video evidence, they have eyewitnesses. It’s just a matter of touching up some of the edges now and the evidence would be available to go to a trial. So the days of having people languishing in the prison three years, five years and so that is not going to be the norm. That is an isolation. In this case, the family court will in fact very quickly, as soon as the investigating file is available to the magistrate, they will hold a preliminary inquiry and send that matter up to the senior court. And whoever is the attorney, and he’s entitled to an attorney, whether he can afford it or not, whoever is the attorney may look at the evidence and decide I’m not going to trial. I can protect the person by ensuring he gets a fair, a fair hearing as the law provides. But you’re not going to wait no long, long time until this fades from memory for all of us “oh the little boy that shot the lady got sentenced to prison.” The minimum for murder starts at 25 years. You can get 30 years, 35 years, you can get a longer period for committing a murder. That is the law in this country.”

Bradley added that the Director of Public Prosecutions would ultimately guide how the case proceeds based on the evidence gathered by investigators.