Police officers John Lucas, Jaleel Lewis sentenced to 11 years for manslaughter in death of Andrew Dougal

By Breaking Belize News Staff: Police officers John Lucas and Jaleel Lewis have each been sentenced to 11 years in prison for the manslaughter of 25-year-old Santa Cruz resident Andrew Dougal, who died after being badly beaten during an encounter with the officers in 2022.

The two officers appeared before Justice Antoinette Moore in the Belmopan High Court on Tuesday, August 11, where the sentences were handed down, one week after they were found guilty of manslaughter following a judge-alone trial.

Attorney Audrey Matura, who represented Lucas, said the court considered the officers’ clean records as a mitigating factor, while their positions as police officers were treated as an aggravating factor. Lewis was represented by attorney Hurl Hamilton.

Lucas and Lewis were convicted on August 4 after Justice Moore found them guilty in connection with injuries Dougal sustained during an encounter with police in Santa Cruz. Crown Counsel Javier Chan prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Both officers had exercised their right to remain silent during the trial.

The case attracted widespread attention after cellphone footage emerged showing portions of the encounter, including Dougal being roughed up and forcefully placed into the back of a police pickup truck. He later died at the hospital after suffering internal bleeding and other complications from his injuries.

A central issue during the trial was Dougal’s haemophilia, an inherited bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot properly. Matura had argued that the condition contributed to the severity of the injuries, as bleeding resulting from the encounter continued internally. The court ultimately found that the injuries inflicted during the encounter led to Dougal’s death.

Lucas and Lewis had been remanded following their convictions last week and will now begin serving their 11-year prison sentences.

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