Alert police work stops three crimes in progress
Belize City police had their hands full this weekend as they were busy literally catching thieves in the act. The most recent arrests took place around two this morning on Freetown Road when authorities say they received a tip informing them that a burglary was in progress at H.L.’s Burger. When the cops arrived on the scene, the first thing they noticed was the burglar bars on the west side of the building were pried open and the wooden door was on the floor, having been removed from its hinges. When officers entered the premises they discovered the restaurant had been ransacked, but the culprits were still inside. Two young men, identified as twenty-two year old Morris Usher and twenty-four year old Theodore Parchue, were found hiding behind a counter and have since been charged with the crime of burglary.
On Sunday, evening two chain snatchers may have thought that their getaway was assured, but what they were not counting on was the swift action of Detective Samuel Bonilla who was off duty but just happened to be in the neighbourhood. Bonilla told News Five that he was in the area of Newtown Barracks when he saw two men confront a woman and grab something from her.
Samuel Bonilla, Detective, Criminal Investigation Branch
“I decided to walk in that direction and whilst going there a vehicle was coming up and one of the male persons doing the robbery ran towards my direction. I immediately took out my service firearm and pointed it at one of the defendants who was coming to my direction whereby I asked him to stay where he was and identified myself as a police officer. I conducted a search on him and in his left hand a found a chain, which the complainant, who was a Hispanic woman, identified that as being hers. The pickup that was passing by, who was a civilian, assisted me in bringing the accused to the police station, along with the complainant. I believe that whether I was in the force or not I would have assisted anybody because it can be my own relative, it can be anybody’s relative out there that need assistance and I just used my initiative and rendered aid to the Hispanic woman.”
The thief caught red-handed has been identified as nineteen-year-old Tyrone Godoy of Campus Avenue in Belize City. He has been charged with robbery.
Another crime was prevented on Saturday morning, again following intervention by a police officer. Around eleven-thirty that morning Inspector Alford Grinage was in the area of Petticoat Alley when he heard a woman’s cries for help. Marie Sabala told police that she was driving her car along New Road but came to a stop due to heavy traffic near the intersection with Petticoat Alley. That is when she said a man approached her and asked if she would like him to wash her vehicle. When Sabala said no, the man reached into the car and grabbed a gold chain that she was wearing. Sabala started to scream for help and that is when Grinage jumped out of his car, chased the culprit, and successfully apprehended him. The man, identified as forty-one year old Andy Avilez, was promptly arrested and charged for the crime of theft.
