Fisherman Killed, Another Injured in Stabbing at Sea Near Placencia

A fishing trip to Ranguana Caye turned deadly yesterday afternoon, leaving one fisherman dead and another hospitalized following a stabbing aboard a vessel approximately eighteen to twenty miles off the coast of Placencia Village.  Police received information about the incident shortly after four-thirty in the afternoon and travelled by private vessel to meet the sailboat transporting the injured men. Officers returned to the Placencia Pier shortly before six o’clock, and both victims were immediately taken to the Placencia Polyclinic.  Thirty-five-year-old Belize City fisherman Jose Luis Arteaga arrived unconscious and suffering from several stab wounds, including injuries to his chest, below his right rib cage and his right arm. He was pronounced dead shortly after six o’clock.  The second victim, thirty-four-year-old Marvin Alexander Arteaga, suffered a stab wound to the left side of his chest. He was stabilized at the polyclinic before being transferred to the Southern Regional Hospital for further medical treatment.  Police say their preliminary investigation indicates that a group of fishermen had left Placencia earlier that day aboard a sailboat and arrived at Ranguana Caye at around three-thirty in the afternoon.  Investigators allege that while the men were aboard the vessel, one member of the group attacked Jose Luis from behind, stabbing him several times. Jose Luis reportedly jumped into the sea after being wounded.  The same person then allegedly approached Marvin, who was sleeping aboard the vessel, and stabbed him once to the chest.  The other fishermen intervened, restrained the alleged attacker and took the knife away from him. They then assisted Jose Luis out of the water and placed him back aboard the sailboat before heading toward Placencia for medical assistance.  A person of interest has been detained in connection with the incident.