Appeals Court docket heavy on cop cases
The Belize Court of Appeal began its first quarterly sitting for 2006 on Tuesday with a slate of fourteen criminal cases. Of note is that four of those appeals are for crimes committed by law enforcement officers. Former superintendent of police Ewart Itza is back in court, this time appealing a Supreme Court decision. According to court reports, when Itza’s trial for aggravated assault of two Dangriga residents was to commence, Magistrate Earl Jones ruled that Itza had no case to answer. D.P.P. Kirk Anderson disagreed and appealed Jones’ ruling to the Supreme Court, which overturned the decision and ruled that Itza should be tried. But now the cop is taking his case to the Appeals Court trying to get the judges to revert to the initial ruling.
Meanwhile, B.D.F. soldier Giovanni Gutierrez, sentenced for abetment to murder and Police Constable Dennis Palacio, serving time for manslaughter, are hoping the court will overturn their ten year sentences. The men were found guilty in the September 2003 shooting death of Aaron Mariano.
And although police officer Cardinal Smith was only fined six thousand dollars after being convicted of manslaughter by negligence for the death of Jamil Torres Shepherd, Smith is still appealing the decision. So is D.P.P. Anderson, but for different reasons. The D.P.P. is dissatisfied with Smith’s penalty on the basis that it was too lenient and he is appealing for a stiffer punishment.
While those defendants anxiously await the court’s decision, persistence has paid off for a Dangriga man. On January fifteenth, 2004, Ervin Marroquin was found guilty of aggravated burglary and given ten years in jail. Marroquin appealed the sentence to the Supreme Court, which knocked three years off his term. Still not satisfied, his lawyer, Jose Cardona, took his case to the Appeals Court where Marroquin’s sentence was today reduced even further, to two years, a time which he has already served. Marroquin is now a free man.
The Belize Court of Appeal consists of visiting judges Boyd Carey, Elliott Mottley, and Dennis Morrison, along with Belizean Manuel Sosa.
