An Elderly Man is Followed Home and Robbed of a $15,000 Withdrawal
A trio of armed thieves followed an elderly man to his house on Landivar Street in Belize City. Fortunately, Harold Williams was unharmed, but the thieves got away with thousands of dollars in cash. The brazen robbery occurred just after one p.m., when Williams has arrived at his house from the bank. The thieves surprised him as he parked his vehicle; pointing a gun at his head, they demanded that he hand over the cash. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Shortly before one o’clock this afternoon, a trio of thieves who had been tailing an elderly retiree since he left Scotiabank on the Philip Goldson Highway, pounced on him as he parked his vehicle in his driveway. The daring robbery took place at a residence at the corners of Dunn and Landivar streets in the King’s Park area. Assistant Superintendent of Police Alejandro Cowo tells the media that seventy-nine-year-old Harold Williams was attacked and relieved of a significant sum of money he had just withdrawn from the bank.
Alejandro Cowo
ASP Alejandro Cowo, O.C., C.I.B., Belize City
“He was approached by three male persons armed with a firearm. One of them knocked on the window of his vehicle and as he opened it, the person pointed a firearm at him and demanded an envelope that he had. He handed over the envelope containing fifteen thousand dollars. Thereafter, the three male persons got in a vehicle. The identity of the three persons is unknown at this moment.”
Dorla Williams, who asked to remain off-camera, was upstairs of the family home when she heard the commotion below.
Voice of: Dorla Williams, Wife of Robbery Victim
“He went to the bank this morning. I heard the gate open and when the gate opened I said, “Okay, he’s back.” And then I heard a bang. When I heard the bang, I went to the bedroom window and I looked at Dunn Street. I saw a cable company vehicle parked at the junction, but I didn’t see anything else so I went to my bathroom window and when I went to my bathroom window I saw a dark vehicle, don’t know the make or anything, reversing and it went down Hopkins Street and I guess it went into St. Joseph Street. When I came down, the guys from the cable company, I wouldn’t recognize them, they said, call the police, call the police and when I looked I see my husband came out and he said he has been robbed. When I looked, I saw everything down there.”
The driver’s side window of Williams’ Honda CRV was smashed during the attack, tiny pieces of broken tempered glass splintered across the driveway.
Voice of: Dorla Williams
“He said what happened, the person obviously came in when he drove in and they knocked open, they broke the window for the driver’s side and they reached over him and they got the money and that’s it.”
According to ASP Cowo, the robbers timed Williams’ arrival before making a move on the unsuspecting pensioner.
ASP Alejandro Cowo
“Well apparently, what we understand is that he had just left from the bank at the Philip Goldson Highway Scotiabank and was proceeding to his residence which was just a matter of maybe ten or fifteen minutes. Apparently the persons were already waiting for him at his residence.”
Voice of: Dorla Williams
“Right now I am still trembling inside and his pressure is sky high. I’ll just see how that works out and if I have to take him to the doctor later then I’ll do that, you know.”
Reporter
“When something like this happens, you don’t feel safe in your own home.”
Voice of: Dorla Williams
“Well, that’s true now because whomsoever it was, we may be a target.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
