Thieves Target CitCo’s Cemetery Road Office; Steal Truck Batteries

On Saturday morning, just before dawn, two thieves, one of whom was armed with a handgun, targeted the Belize City Council’s office which is located on Cemetery Road, at its junction with Partridge Street. The assailants held up the security guard on duty and stole his money, after which they made off with two heavy-duty truck batteries. Today, the police department’s Communications Director, ASP Fitzroy Yearwood shared what they have so far, while Mayor Bernard Wagner said that was the only office for them that did not yet have surveillance cameras.

Fitzroy Yearwood

ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, Communications Director, Belize Police Department

“We got a report from the watchman about six a.m., on the fifteenth of January where he alleged that two armed men entered the City Council booth and he was placed on the ground and tied up and these men made off with his wallet with an undisclosed amount of cash and his personal identification cards. He also said that after they made good their escape and he managed to get loose, he made checks on the compound and realized that a battery was missing from a garbage truck that was parked there and a dump truck, two batteries, but our investigators are following that up and we are trying to get surveillance footage in that area.”

Bernard Wagner

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City

“The report I received was that between four a.m., and six a.m., on Saturday, the Ranger security guard was – two robbers went on him armed, one of them armed, and they took control of him. They took his last amount of cash, fifteen dollars that was on him and they also stole two batteries from one of the compactor trucks and a dump truck as well. We have reported the matter to the police and we await further investigation on it.”

Isani Cayetano

“I understand that in the wake of that incident, other measures are being taken now, including the installation of security or surveillance cameras?”

Bernard Wagner

“Yeah, actually, we have had it in our plans for some time now to put surveillance cameras on that specific office. We have at most of our offices across the city. It’s unfortunate that the one that didn’t have the cameras was the one that suffered the theft, but we are quickly working on ensuring that those surveillance cameras are put in place there.”