Pellet gun mistaken for sawed-off shotgun; case fizzles
Glenford Vernon
Three men, who were arrested on the night of June twenty-third 2011, were freed of firearm charges today. Twenty-three year olds Glenford Vernon and Carlton Pakeman were picked up along with nineteen year old Lindon Hinds shortly after a shooting incident in the Pound Yard area in which, Jessem Gladden was injured. The Ford Escort they were travelling in reportedly matched the description of the getaway vehicle in the shooting incident and police alleged that they found a sawed off shotgun in the back seat. But today, Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer ruled that the trio had no case to answer to because in the evidence presented before the court, the weapon went from a sawed off shotgun to a pellet gun. Due to the inconsistency, the fact that a pellet gun is not legally considered a firearm and evidence that the firearm presented in court was not in working condition, the men were freed. Vernon’s mother, a police officer, believes her son was targeted because of a previous misunderstanding with another cop. She says they will sue the Police Department for the officer’s malicious act.
This case is hard to swallow. Why does it take our armorer more than a year to figure out a “shotgun” is actually an inoperable pellet gun?
I’m pretty sure my 12-year old nephew could have seen the difference in less than 30 seconds.
Belize deserves better.
Am with you, this just show how uneducated these police officers are and also how corrupt they are. Barrow wake up bwai.
@Storm it is quite obvious you have a problem with Mr. Barrow (and it may be for legitimate and good reason/reasons) but HELL man you can’t be so dumb… It was indeed a sawed off shot gun!!!! a or some CROOKED policeman/policemen got paid to change the evidence oh I just hope that they are shot by the same criminals that they took bribes from. The whole system is very corrupt and they protect each other.
“Vernon’s mother, a police officer, believes her son was targeted because of a previous misunderstanding with another cop.”….Sure he was. This sounds like a case of evidence tampering and shows even more corruption on the side of the Police Department. How can an officer of our police department cannot be adequately trained to know the difference between a pellet gun and a real gun? Unless there was a switch-a-roo in the evidence room. The family should either sue the police for millions due to false imprisonment, or ALL the arresting officers should be FIRED immediately due to incompetence.
@Jhon:
1. You’re right, I have developed a problem with PM Barrow, even though I supported him in his first election,k to end the open and obvious corruption of the Musa/Fonseca regime. Is our country better off today than when he took office? That’s why I have a problem with him today. It seems to me the corruption is no less, and the lack of interest or simple incompetence is far greater. UDP and PUP, I’d like them both to disappear so we can try again, so a new Belize can arise from the ashes of the nation like a phoenix.
2. The possibility, even likelihood that a corrupt officer switched the evidence occurred to me, of course. It’s sad that the common people in Belize quickly and reasonably assume the police have tampered with or destroyed evidence. That certainly might have happened and would explain the result, but at this moment I haven’t heard any evidence it occurred.
3. It is also possible that the case went down just as reported, and arresting officers simply weren’t trained well enough to get it right.
HERE IS A GOOD THING THAT SOMEONE SHOULD INVESTIGATE, AND IT MIGHT CLEAR THE AIR CONCLUSIVELY: when the weapon was booked into evidence, there had to be a detailed report written, including MANUFACTURER and SERIAL NUMBER. Those appear on EVERY firearm.
Let’s have our Commissioner of Police or Minister of National Security PERSONALLY verify that the pellet gun that arrived in court matched the description of the evidence that was seized and booked.
Even high school junior students would not have made this error. Police officers know perfectly the difference between the barrel of a shot gun and any other type of long gun. This was a set up. In any respectable country the officers responsible would be fired.
Jhon n jimmy u r 2 fools. It was a pillet gun. Even d disclosure says it. I am 1 of the 3 who was wrongfully imprisioned n accused. Because pc Frank Mcneal was trying 2 b spiteful because of a previous misunderstanding with glen vernon n he was shamed by Vernon’s mother because she went to higher autority. So next time b4 u talk shut if
mouth