Early morning raid captures suspects in Dangriga

An early morning raid by Belmopan police has netted them two men wanted for robberies in three districts. According to Officer in Charge of the Belmopan station, Edward Broaster, just after 1:00 this morning a joint team from the capital and Dangriga ambushed a home in the southern town where they believed two fugitives were hiding out. Those men, twenty-five year old Ethan Carr and twenty-two year old Revelino Martinez, were inside and despite persistent urging from the cops for them to come out with their hands up, they decided to stay put. Matters were complicated by the additional presence of women and children in the house. Police decided to enter through a back window, spotted the women and children and managed to convince them to end the face-off. At this point Carr came out with his hands in the air and he was quickly handcuffed. But Martinez was playing hard to get and police fired warning shots before cautiously entering the home to look for him. They found the fugitive under the bed and immediately collared him. An extensive search of the home turned up a Colt twenty-two pistol with one live round, hidden in the ceiling. All four adults have been charged with keeping an unlicensed firearm and ammunition and the women have been additionally charged with obstruction and harbouring fugitives. According to Broaster, Martinez and Carr had committed hold-ups in the Stann Creek, Cayo and Belize Districts. The list of charges for those crimes has yet to be finalised.