The sentencing hearing for convicted murderers, William ‘Danny’ Mason, Keiron Fernandez, Ashton Vanegas, Terrence Fernandez and Ernest Castillo came to an end on Thursday, July 30.
All the men, with the exception of Castillo, were sentenced to life in prison, being eligible for parole after 35 years. Castillo received the same life sentence; however, he will be eligible for parole after 30 years.
On December 3, 2019, Mason and his co-accused were found guilty of the beheading murder of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas, who was killed on July 15, 2016 at Mason’s ranch located at Mile 31 on the George Price Highway. After a protracted trial, the men were all found guilty of the murder. Lucas had been killed at the ranch and his body burnt but for some unknown reason, his head was placed in a bucket and was placed in the back of Mason’s pickup truck. The police had been investigating Mason for another crime, one of kidnapping, when they came up on him at a bar in Belmopan. When investigators checked the pan of the pickup truck, they found Lucas’ head inside the bucket.
Of note is that the men are still to stand trial for the kidnapping case.
