Roger Anthony, Joseph Panting charged for Kurt Ortega’s murder
Posted: 07/09/2007 - 09:15 AM
Author: Anita Nembhard
The body count of young men shot to death continues to rise as escalating gang violence continues to rule the city streets after the murder of George “Junie Balls” McKenzie, 33, which occurred on Monday, August 27. The former Crips leader of Pinks Alley was shot dead next to the North Front Street entrance to the alley, a.k.a. “Majestic Alley,” where he lived.
Now, Kurt Emmanuel Ortega, 31, a barber living on San Pedro Ambergris Caye, has been shot dead, bringing to six the number of gang-related murders in Belize City since McKenzie, 33, died eight days ago.
Fleeing from Hurricane Felix, Ortega, a father of two who resided with his family in Belize City, reportedly was one of the first evacuees to leave the island of San Pedro on Friday, September 1, as it prepared for the hurricane.
It is believed by his family that Ortega, who had long since “gone straight,” and had a legitimate occupation, made the mistake of wearing red clothes as he waited in the vicinity of Pratt’s Fried Chicken on Hondo Street in the St. Martin De Porres area of the city sometime around 8:40 on Tuesday night, September 4.
Police say Ortega was shot six times - three times in the abdomen, once in the genital area, once in the back of the neck and once in the left side of the jaw. By the time Kurt Ortega was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor.
A post-mortem is tentatively scheduled for today.
The second person to die after McKenzie was Jermaine “Jerry” Smart, 27, who was shot and killed about 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday, August 29, less than 25 yards from his house, located at 27A Fuller’s Alley off Cemetery Road.
Within a 24-hour period, a third victim was gunned down. Jerrie Devon Jones, 33, was shot and killed about 7:40 p.m. on Thursday, August 30, while at Mike’s Club located on Regent Street West next to Bolton Bridge.
The death of the fourth victim occurred that same night about two hours after, when Tyrone “Cas” Castillo, 29, was shot four times while attending George McKenzie’s wake, between 9:45 and 10:15, on Mayflower Street in the “Ghost Town” area of Lake I.
The fifth victim would later be identified as McKenzie’s nephew. Floyd Gladden, 22, the son of Junie Balls’ sister, met his untimely death sometime around 3:00 in the afternoon of Tuesday, September 4, while on Warrie Street in the vicinity of North Creek. Gladden had been shot multiple times in the body.
That same day, some 6 hours later, Ortega, the sixth shooting victim, was gunned down.
Today, as Yvonne Bevans, 51, cries over the hurt of losing her son to violence, she wonders how many must die before the bloodshed stops.
The motive behind Ortega’s death is uncertain, but police say they have two men who they believe are responsible for his death.
Joseph Panting, 33, a laborer of #77 Mahogany Street, and Roger Anthony, 30, a resident of #186 Belama Phase I, were arraigned in Belize City Magistrate’s Court #1 this morning shortly after 10:00 a.m. Both men appeared in front of Chief Magistrate Margaret Gabb-McKenzie. They were read charges of one count of murder each and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Ortega.
They were denied bail and remanded to the Hattieville Prison until their next court date, scheduled for September 14.
While police continue to investigate the motive behind Ortega’s murder, relatives remain unshaken in their belief that he was shot because of the color of the clothing he wore on that fatal night - red.
A female cousin of Ortega who last saw him said that he had borrowed her bicycle to buy fried chicken. Initially he wanted to go to “Kick Down Fence,” but he found out that they had sold out earlier that night and had already closed.
He then decided that he would go to “Li Chee,” a popular fried chicken place on Freetown Road, but instead of heading there Ortega ended up at Pratt’s Fried Chicken, located on Hondo Street, another popular chicken joint.
Dressed in full red - a red shirt and a red ¾ pants - Ortega was on the street near the business waiting to be served when he was gunned down sometime around 8:40 p.m.
According to police, a man wearing a mask shot Ortega six times.
Ian Ortega, his only living brother, said that Kurt had been a member of the “Bloods” gang, but that was four years ago.
He left the city to start a new life, and things were working out fine for him on the island, said Ian.
Kurt Emmanuel Ortega is survived by his mother, Yvonne Bevans; father, Dennis Ortega; brother, Ian Ortega, and 10 sisters.
Funeral services are tentatively scheduled for Saturday at St. John’s Cathedral Church on Regent Street.
Relatives are awaiting a post-mortem, which was scheduled for late this evening.
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