Brazen robber jacks water company payroll
When two armed robbers were stopped in their tracks Wednesday morning by a sharp-shooting downtown merchant it was felt that the widely applauded act might give prospective criminals a reason to cool off–at least for a while. But that proved to be wishful thinking as this afternoon’s heist at the water company was nothing less than audacious. Ann-Marie Williams has the story.
Ann-Marie Williams
“The Belize Water Services has been jacked of its fifteenth payroll, over thirty thousand dollars in cash. According to an eyewitness the assailant may have entered from the back of the building through this gate, up the stairs and made his way into the little office where the over one hundred employees usually receive their pay.”
According to public relations officer Omar Silva, the jacker did not even bother to wear a mask.
Omar Silva P.R. Officer, B.W.S.
“Shortly after 2:00 p.m. we had a person who came into the building and went to our payroll section and held up two of our payroll clerks at gun point. As I understand it, it was one guy, he didn’t carry a mask and was dressed in a red cap with red clothing.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Armed with a gun or knife?”
Omar Silva
“Armed with a gun.”
The robbers went through an open door which lead to this door, where he pointed the gun through this glass window and told one of the paying clerks Delma Holiday, to let him in for the money.
She opened the door and the thief tied up both women with a telephone wire before stacking the over thirty thousand dollars in cash in a knapsack he carried.
Employees who hang out in the backyard told us that the robber casually spoke to some of them on his way out the back gate. One worker who didn’t want to appear on camera said he was surprised to learn that the young man he was talking to had just jacked his pay.
Omar Silva
“It’s really shocking. It’s shocking to everybody, considering…we have security here.”
But employees say there was no security at the wide open back gate as the security guard of six years had just been reassigned as a driver because the previous driver was laid off. Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.
No suspects have yet been detained by police.
