Trio of Thieves Remanded for Burglary of Franklin Street Residence

Three men who were caught in the act of burglarizing a house on Franklin Street, Belize City, claim it was all a police set-up. The media was called in at about ninety-thirty on Wednesday morning and captured footage of the scene as police descended on the burglars. The front wooden door and burglar bar door of the house were damaged and pried opened. Inside were three men: Jamey Williams, Elect McKoy, and Elden Flowers.  The trio was taken to court this morning and charged with burglary with intent to steal from the house of Cheryl Slusher, but they pleaded not guilty.  The police were tipped off by an observant neighbour. The men claimed they had been beaten by the police and relatives of the home owner. McKoy, who is a repeat offender, told Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser that they were at their job site, when a police mobile picked them up, took them to the house and beat them. He claims they have received death threats and that they were violated when the police allowed the media to record and air footage of them before being charged. Prosecutor in the case, Inspector Hector Rodriguez, objected to bail due to the prevalence of the crime and on the strength of the case since the trio was caught red-handed by the police.  In the end, the Senior Magistrate agreed and denied bail.  The alleged burglars went to Slusher’s house, while she was not at home. One of them pretended to be chopping the yard, while the other two forced their way into the building. A neighbour became suspicious and called the police. This was the second time that the house had been burglarized in four months. In February, McKoy was charged for that burglary.