The murder case against thirty-one-year-old Paul Sambula is moving closer to a preliminary inquiry. After spending almost seven months on remand, Sambula has now received the evidence prosecutors intend to use against him in the killing of Edward Saldano Junior, better known as “Scrubby.” Sambula, a former call center employee, appeared in Court Number Three this afternoon, where prosecutors handed him one hundred and sixty-two pages of documents, sixteen photographs and eleven DVDs. The magistrate explained that the disclosure contains the evidence police will rely on to prove the murder charge. Sambula was told to review the material and return to court on November fourth, when he can challenge the evidence before the case proceeds to paper committal. Police charged Sambula with murder on March tenth, five days after Saldano was fatally shot near the corner of Dean Street and Amara Avenue in Belize City. According to reports, Saldano was riding his bicycle toward Dean Street when a gunman confronted him. Surveillance footage reportedly captured a struggle between the two men before Saldano fell to the ground and the shooter fired several more rounds. The attack also unfolded in front of several witnesses. Saldano was rushed to the hospital, but later died from his injuries. Sambula, who maintains the legal presumption of innocence, has remained on remand since his arraignment.
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