Glad to be back in Canada
Mount Pearl man spent more than five months in Belize prison
JR Smith was getting some fresh air outside a nightclub in Hopkins, Belize, on July 31, 2022.
That's when he heard the first shots ring out.
He went to investigate, and that’s when he heard more shots coming from inside the club.
Moments before, there had been an altercation inside the club that involved some of Smith's friends, and the Mount Pearl native didn’t like the vibe in the club, so he decided it was best to step out.
But once he heard the gunshots, his training as a soldier kicked in.
He ran to his truck to get himself, and some other bystanders, including some teens and a child, out of the area.
After dropping the other people off, Smith – a former Canadian Forces soldier who saw combat in Afghanistan – went back to his house.
“About two hours later, my house is surrounded by cops,” he said.
“I let them in, went down on my knees and they grabbed me and started laying in the punches.
“Then they threw me on the ground, started kicking me, spitting on me, pulling on my beard, and then threw me down the stairs.”
He was paraded past the crime scene as people spat on him and threw beer bottles at him.
Then he was taken to the police station.
CENTRAL AMERICAN PRISON
Things got worse from there for Smith, who spent the next 5 1/2 months in prison in the Central American country on murder charges before he was released on Dec. 20.
Police in the country had alleged Smith was the getaway driver in the nightclub shooting, which had left two dead and eight injured, including some police officers.
Smith says he knew the men involved in the shooting, but has maintained since that July night that he had nothing to do with the incident.
Prosecutors eventually dropped the charges against Smith due to lack of evidence, but not before his reputation was smeared by the media and police, who alleged he had been in the country for years and was a known criminal.
“People who know me know I would never do anything like that,” he said.
“I went from this guy, decorated by my country, my company was there for wounded soldiers, I've done all these nice things in my life. I went from that to a highly trained, skilled killer."
Once the prison officials knew he was a trained soldier, Smith alleges, they started to treat him with "extra precautions."
“I couldn’t get visits on the weekends like everybody else, my food didn’t come from the kitchen like everybody else, it had to go through these certain officers who were probably doing everything to it because they didn’t like me, and they made it very clear,” he says.
“They would wake me up in the middle of night and handcuff me, search my cell, turn it all upside down.”
BEATEN, THREATENED, EXTORTED
Smith says he was routinely beaten in the police station for the four to five days before he was sent to prison, locked in his prison cell for up to 23 hours a day, and threatened with further torture if he didn’t confess.
At different times, he was told they would smash his bones with a hammer and that he would be shot in an “escape attempt” if he didn’t co-operate with the investigators. He said he just kept his mouth shut and kept asking to speak with the embassy.
He had moved to Belize during the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting his nowpartner Denise Hepburn shortly after.
Hepburn, who is also a former Canadian Forces soldier, had been out of the country when Smith was arrested. She thought it would quickly get fixed.
She was wrong.
“I figured once they started talking to him, it would be all straightened out. I never thought it would go as far as it did,” Hepburn said.
“Then it just started escalating, and escalating, and things started to go crazy.”
She was hopeful at first, but the longer it continued, she became less and less convinced he would ever get out.
Hepburn reached out to the Canadian government on Smith’s behalf for help. While the Canadian embassy did send a team of staff to aid in Smith’s release, they’re unsure how effective they were.
Smith attributes his eventual release to the lack of evidence against him. He also hired his own lawyer, who was the top criminal defence attorney in Belize, to represent him.
Throughout it all, Hepburn, along with his father – who flew from Newfoundland to Belize to visit him – were soundly in his corner, offering support during his ordeal.
EXTORTED BY POLICE
Hepburn was followed by the police many times while Smith was languishing in prison.
She says they demanded money from her with promises they could “make it all go away” for US$70,000.
Smith says this wasn’t the only attempt at extortion that was made, including a last-minute $12,000 “fee” his family had to pay to get the magistrate to sign his release papers.
“There was absolutely no evidence I had anything to do with any crime and we still had to pay $12,000 just to get her to sign the papers,” he said.
Smith said an additional $80,000 in cash he had set aside for home renovations is also missing, which he believes was taken by the police.
He plans to launch legal action against the Belize police, the government and the police commissioner for the treatment he endured while in custody and the statements made by the police.
Smith and Hepburn are now living together in London, Ont.
He said he’s glad to be able to clear his name and while he still has some issues with the federal government, he’s happy to be back in Canada with Hepburn.
“I owe her my life, a few times now,” he said. “I wouldn’t have made it through this without her and now we just want to move on with our lives.”