Youth convicted for threatening officer

In another case of violence against a police officer, a Belize City youth has been convicted of aggravated assault for pulling a gun on P.C. Mark Young. Eighteen year old Lionel Sampson was convicted of aggravated assault and fined one thousand, five hundred dollars by Magistrate Harry Hulett. Three hundred dollars of that amount was due immediately, but Sampson could not come up with the cash and will therefore have to spend a year in jail. Additionally, Sampson was also ordered to “keep the peace” for one year or another six months will be added to his sentence. According to P.C. Young, he was on patrol in the Pickstock hutment on June eleventh when he approached Sampson, who was wanted for an offence. But when Sampson pulled out a gun, he let him go. Young told the court he did so because he feared for his life. In an attempt to mitigate his circumstances, Sampson told the magistrate he had no previous convictions. However, Hulett reminded Sampson that he had been in the courts before for the murder of Cleophas Burgess in June 2002.