Mother of Treasury Dept. employee charged
A third arrest was made today in the case of the pension funds from the Treasury Department that were deposited in pensioners’ name at commercial banks. Last week, Belize City police reportedly zeroed in on the mother of Monica Escarpeta after they could not locate Escarpeta for the missing monies from the Treasury Department’s Pension Fund. Monica was charged on Thursday with theft. And today police also brought charges against Escarpeta’s mother, fifty three year old Yvonne Marie Bevans for Handling Stolen Goods. Bevans, a resident of Rio Bravo Crescent off Faber’s Road Extension, appeared before Magistrate Harrison Hewlett. No plea was taken because the matter is indictable. Bevans, as is her daughter, is represented by Michael Peyrefitte.
Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney for Marie Bevans
“I didn’t find out that she was wanted by the police until she was detained by the police. It was while we were in court yesterday for the arraignment of Monica Escarpeta that the mother was detained by police. She was there overnight and she called me from the station a couple minutes ago saying that they were bringing her over here. That was when I found out that they had charged her for Handling Stolen Goods.”
Marion Ali
“Your client is charged with the handling of stolen goods of twelve thousand four hundred plus dollars. Do you think it will be easier to get her off as opposed to her daughter, Ms Escarpeta?”
Michael Peyrefitte
“Well, that would depend upon the evidence. No case is easy, no case is difficult – it’s all about the evidence, so when we get the disclosure we will look at the disclosure and based on that we will approach the case from there. The evidence does not have to be turned over to the defense until fourteen days before the preliminary inquiry, so come September twenty-third, the police does not have to give any evidence to us until the tenth of September. Under our system that’s how it works and more than likely there will be no P.I. on September twenty-third either so there will be no disclosure before September twenty-third.”
The prosecution indicated in court that it might elect to try both Bevans and Escarpeta together. Meanwhile, Escarpeta and Rhea Pennil are now out on bail but have had to hand over their travel documents and report to the Clerk of Courts. Escarpeta, a second class clerk at the Treasury Department and the prime suspect, was the second person charged this week in connection with the missing monies. She is charged with Theft of two hundred and ninety one thousand dollars, twenty-two dollars and twenty-six cents. Pennil on the other hand, is charged with Handling Stolen Goods for a hundred and fifty-one thousand, nine hundred and sixty seven dollars and thirty three cents. A fourth person that has made the news in this case, Karen Young, has not been charged.
