Retired Coast Guard officer fined $2,500 for causing the death of a high school student

By BBN Staff: An ex-Belize Defense Force Soldier who retired as a member of the Belize Coast Guard was fined in court this week after pleading guilty to manslaughter by negligence in the death of Gwen Lizarraga High School student Benjamin Gentle Jr.

Fifty-seven-year-old Whaine Williams appeared in the Supreme Court before Justice Ricardo O’Neil Sandrcoft, where he pleaded guilty to the traffic offense committed on November 18, 2014.

Williams received a fine of 42,500, which he has to pay by December 31, 2022, or he will face a year in prison for default.

The incident involved two boats crashing in the Crooked Tree Lagoon. Apart from Gentle’s death, there were three others, Anthea Garbutt, Gabriel Cruz, and Jair Tillett who were injured in the incident. Williams was initially charged with 2 counts of grievous harm and one count of wounding but was only indicted on the manslaughter by negligence charge.

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