Belize City Resident Charged for Handling Stolen Goods

John Burke

But John Burke, a Belize City resident, will not be spending Christmas behind bars. He was accused of burglary and handling stolen goods after the home of a Belizean/American couple was burglarized in their presence and the culprits cleaned out the house.  Burke was accused of burglarizing the home of Reginald Welch in 2013 and today at a ruling in his case, Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser found him not guilty of burglary, but guilty of handling stolen goods. Within hours of the burglary in 2013, Burke was found in possession of a power washer and a vacuum cleaner, but said he had no idea they were stolen items. In mitigation this morning, Burke threw himself to the mercy of the court and begged for leniency asking Senior Magistrate Fraser to please take into consideration the fact that he is a father of four children whose mother just passed away in May of this year, while he was on remand.  Burke was fined two thousand dollars and has until February twenty-eight 2016, to pay.