Belize cop ‘was staying at Jasmine Hartin’s hotel with ‘notorious killer’ who shot neighbour four times in the back’
A COP who was allegedly shot dead by Lord Ashcroft’s daughter-in-law was staying at her hotel with a “notorious killer” who shot his neighbour four times, it is reported.
Police chief Henry Jemmott, 42, was on a five-day break with his pal after being given leave from his cop duties for “personal reasons”.
Socialite Jasmine Hartin, 32 — wed to Tory Lord Ashcroft’s son Andrew — is said to have accidentally killed long-time pal Jemmott with his Glock pistol after a boozy evening in San Pedro, Belize, last week.
Jemmott was taking some time away from his wife and three children — and Jasmine offered to put him up at the Grand Colony hotel in a luxury villa right on the beach, Mail on Sunday reports.
Jasmine and Andrew, 43, reportedly live at the hotel and Andrew also runs the luxury venue.
Jemmott and his friend Manuel Pacheco checked in on May 26.
Pacheco, a jeweller, was charged with the killing of his neighbour Jose Villanueva in 2018, according to reports.
During an argument, he reportedly shot Villanueva four times, including in the back.
CCTV footage showed Villanueva staggering towards his home before collapsing in a pool of blood.
Pacheco remained behind bars until his murder trial in February last year.
But the judge accepted his story that he acted in self-defence and he was acquitted.
Jemmott’s friend, Francisco ‘Panny’ Arceo, told the Mail on Sunday: “He and Manuel came for dinner at my house on Wednesday and we arranged to go fishing at 9am the next day.
“I didn’t know who Manuel was at first. When I found out I was upset. He is notorious.
“He killed a friend of mine. If I’d known who he was I would never have let him in my house or on my boat.”
And hours before Jemmott was shot dead, a traffic officer reportedly pulled the father-of-five over as he “swerved” along an island road.
“He was inebriated, very drunk,” a source told Mail on Sunday.
“He was so drunk he was swerving all over the place. He was driving the golf cart erratically. You could smell the liquor. He was spoken to but allowed to continue.”
Jemmott was said to have been “plagued by demons”, according to a woman who knows his common-law wife, Romit Wilson.
“Did he like whisky? Yes. Did he like cocaine? Yes. Did he like to party? Absolutely,” the woman told the newsaper.
“He was a very complicated character who portrayed himself a certain way but the reality was very different. He had a lot of demons.”
It comes as Hartin reportedly said she had “no idea” the gun she was holding was loaded before it went off and killed Jemmott.
The socialite is now said to have described the incident as a “living nightmare”, telling cops in a statement: “I picked up the gun and tried to eject the magazine clip but it was stuck.
“I struggled with it, trying to get the magazine out, when the gun suddenly went off.
“I had no idea it still had a bullet in the chamber.”
She added: “Henry fell back on top of me. I was pinned down and he was bleeding all over me.
“As I was wriggling to get out from under him, to get free so I could check to see if he was OK, he slipped into the water.”
The Mail on Sunday said Hartin told police that Jemmott gave her the gun so she could practise her shooting skills.
She has been charged with manslaughter by negligence and could face up to five years in jail, or be let off with a £7,000 fine.
The pair had reportedly been friends for a number of years and he suggested she armed herself after an incident at a party when a man became aggressive towards her.
“He told me I needed to get a gun for my own personal protection,” she said.
The officer handed her his police-issued Glock 17 from his holster while they were in a car together and he was driving.
On the night of the shooting Jasmine met Jemmott and the pair drank wine and whiskey at the pier in the Banana Beach resort, where they sat chatting and listening to music.
After Jemmott has been shot Jasmine screamed for help, alerting nearby security guards, who ran from a nearby hotel raced to the scene to find her pacing up and down on the pier.
One person picked up the gun while a shocked Jasmine sat down on rocks before blood was swabbed from her arm.
Meanwhile, Jemmott’s widow has told The Sun on Sunday that he had never mentioned Hartin to her.
Romit Wilson said: “The whole thing has been a big surprise.”
Sources have told the Mail on Sunday that bullets found at the scene convinced prosecutors her claim about practising unloading and loading Jemmott’s gun were true.
She will learn whether she is released on bail on Wednesday.
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After being refused bail, Hartin is currently being held in the scorpion infested Belize Central Prison in Hattieville.
Sources close to the case have claimed the decision to keep her in detention is politically motivated because the “public is baying for blood”.
She could remain in jail for up to a year though her legal team are battling to get her released.