By Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Sept. 24, 2025
  A Cotton Tree Village man, Akeem Richards, 29, has been charged with double murder for allegedly shooting to death two men – 39-year-old Clint Castillo and 32-year-old Andrew Muns— in July of 2024.
  The incident occurred during a State of Emergency (SOE) that was in effect at the time in the village.
  Castillo and Muns had reportedly been socializing with several other men when an argument broke out between Muns and Richards, and Castillo tried to be the peacemaker between them.
  At that point, however, Richards was allegedly handed a firearm by a person believed to be Jamal Hyde, 22, and with it he fatally shot Castillo, who died at the scene. Muns was then shot as well, and was left paralyzed; he subsequently died 18 days after suffering his initial injuries.
  Following the incident, Hyde was charged with two counts of abetment to murder. Now, a little over a year after the incident, Richards has been charged with two counts of murder.
