Ontario man imprisoned, tortured in Belize shares his ordeal
Ontario man imprisoned, tortured in Belize shares his ordeal
It's been nearly a year since JR Smith found himself locked in a Belize prison after being wrapped up in the country's largest-ever mass shooting that claimed two lives and left eight others, including several police officers, injured.
According to police in Belize, Smith was behind the wheel of a getaway car used moments after the shooting at a nightclub on July 31, 2022, that left two dead and eight others injured.
Smith, who served overseas in Afghanistan during his time in the military, emphatically denies any involvement in the events that unfolded that night.
"Anybody that knows me knows I wouldn't; I'm not somebody that would take part in kids getting shot in a nightclub and, you know, things like that," the former Canadian Armed Forces soldier said from his London, Ont., home on Thursday.
Smith, originally from Newfoundland, was based at CFB Petawawa for years and now lives in London with his partner, Denise Hepburn.
The couple had only recently relocated to Belize after Smith became disillusioned with the Canadian government during the pandemic and sought a fresh start in what he thought would be paradise.
Instead, Smith said he was arrested and beaten for a crime he didn't commit, finding himself in what he described as a black hole in prison in a third-world country.
JR Smith is pictured behind bars in Belize in 2022. (Supplied)
Smith said he was paraded in shackles through the streets by the police.
"They threw bags over my head to suffocate me," he recalled. "I had 16 cops or so kicking me, kicking the guts out of me and then they took me past the crime scene where everybody threw beer bottles at me, spitting on me and all this stuff."
During his time in custody, he claims to have been physically tortured by investigators.
He further alleges that they offered him a deal: his freedom in exchange for $70,000 U.S.
Still, Smith maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal, asserting that the police, who had obtained a warrant to search his home in Belize, confiscated $80,000 he had saved for home renovations.
Smith said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time that night when several people, including a woman and her child, jumped in his truck seeking safety after hearing the gunshots.
He admitted to knowing the arrested men but said he had nothing to do with the shooting.
JR Smith and his partner, Denise Hepburn, in this undated photo (Supplied)
Hepburn recalled the horrors she witnessed during her visits to the Belize prison while fighting for Smith's freedom, both from Belize and back home in Canada.
"Going to that prison every day was absolutely horrible," Hepburn said. "It's a beautiful place to go and visit, but you know, for all of the corruption and the extortion and that that was going on, it was kind of unbelievable to experience."
"There's nobody [who] would have ever put that much effort into getting me out that she did. I owe her my life, that woman," he stated.
Smith now plans to pursue legal action against the police for the unjust treatment he said he endured.
After months of hardships, Smith revealed that his pension and benefits, which were frozen following his arrest, are now being restored by the government.
The couple is looking ahead to embarking on the next chapter of their lives, striving to heal from the trauma they endured over the past year.
At the moment, wildfires are burning across six provinces and one territory in Canada — and they’re still spreading in what’s being called an unprecedented fire season. While firefighters work tirelessly to battle the merciless flames and prevent further destruction, scientists say the wildfires are linked to climate change and that this will be the new normal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he raised concerns about reports that LGBTQ2S+ rights and democracy are under threat in Poland during a Friday visit with its prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, in Toronto.
Air Canada says travellers should be prepared for further flight disruptions as it works to return service to normal following a technical malfunction Thursday.
As more Canadians pass their family cottages down to the next generation, 'major shifts' in the ownership of recreational homes will occur, according to Re/Max. But amid concerns around the cost of housing, some may be wondering whether they can afford to keep that family cottage. Here's what younger generations need to know about inheriting a recreational property and the market today.
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as 'utterly disgusting' anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021.
Pierre Poilievre is off to Manitoba to rally Conservative supporters ahead of a byelection that Maxime Bernier is hoping will send him back to Parliament. The far-right People's Party of Canada leader lost his Quebec seat in the 2019 federal vote and lost again in the 2021 election.
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is committed to keeping David Johnston in place as Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference, despite a majority of MPs voting in favour of his stepping down from the gig.
Planning to pass time in Montreal's many parks this summer? Check yourself for ticks, warns one woman who recently contracted Lyme disease. Jasmine Rochereul, 23, says she spent much of last summer sprawled in city parks, where she believes she picked up the tick-borne illness.
Gatineau police arrested an 18-year-old man in connection to the investigation into a hidden camera discovered in the washroom at an elementary school.
Three Toronto men have been charged with attempted murder after they allegedly shot an innocent dog walker in Schomberg, Ont. in a case of mistaken identity.
A local addiction treatment facility is expanding and moving operations to the Mission Services building on York Street. Quintin Warner House staff say the move will mean improved programs for more clients.
A popular beach in Bracebridge is open to the public two days after sewing needles were found in the water, but a second beach has since closed over safety concerns.
The defence has completed its closing summations in an ongoing Windsor murder trial involving the shooting death of 20-year-old Madisen Gingras in April of 2020.
A dozen sheriffs and Calgary Police officers roamed Calgary's core for three months, but the provincial pilot program is officially over as of this week.
A Calgary father and son face a lengthy list of criminal charges after being arrested in connection with the sexual exploitation, assault and extortion of multiple teen girls.
One person has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after an ultralight aircraft caught on fire in Surrey Friday afternoon, according to authorities.
In a Canadian first, the University of British Columbia has adapted its early childhood education program to support young people who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH).
JR Smith is pictured behind bars in Belize in 2022. (Supplied)
JR Smith and his partner, Denise Hepburn, in this undated photo (Supplied)
