Constable shot, Mayor held up
It wasn’t just San Pedro that saw gunplay on Thursday night. “Out West”, a suspected criminal gang from Guatemala, held up the mayor of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, and later exchanged gunfire with police. One of the suspects was hit in the stomach by a bullet and a police constable sustained serious injuries. News 5 went to the K.H.M.H. today to check on the constable and spoke with Mayor Alfonso Cruz Jr. by telephone.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Doctors at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital remain cautiously optimistic about the recovery of police Constable Kevin Jacobs. The bullet entered Jacobs’ left cheek and lodged in his brain. K.H.M.H. officials say they are giving him medication to reduce the swelling, but he will need to be flown out of the country to repair the damage that was done to the upper jaw. Jacobs is also being monitored for further complications like continuous bleeding, but doctors say if that occurs they will be able to treat the problem. Jacobs is the first law enforcement officer to be seriously wounded in the line of duty following the murder of Corporal Fernando Rosado in 2001.
G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer
“It’s difficult because for the most part police officers are always under a microscope. The public is intolerant of indiscipline and mistakes, and very few people acknowledge the fact that on a daily basis they risk life and limb. This is indeed one of those incidents where he went out on patrol and the worse happened. We’re very, very concerned and the entire department is behind him and praying for his safe recovery. The commissioner is himself concerned and has expressed to the family his concern and is certainly doing everything within his ability to make sure that those responsible are brought to justice.”
Police press Officer G. Michael Reid says around ten p.m. Thursday, P.C. Jacobs was on mobile patrol on the Bullet Tree Road when the unit came upon four suspicious looking men.
G. Michael Reid
“And they stop to ask some questions at which point the fellows reacted. One of them produced a handgun and there was an exchange of fire. The officer was hit in the face. At this point, we’re still optimistic but not sure–the doctors have assured us that they are doing the very best that they can.”
Authorities strongly suspect that the men who fired at P.C. Jacobs are the same individuals who earlier that night held up San Ignacio Mayor Alfonso Cruz, Jr. and his common-law wife.
Alfonso Cruz Jr., Mayor, San Ignacio (Via Phone)
“They were using masks and they were dressed in full, it was very dark at night, so it looked like they were dressed in full black. And what they did is that around eight-thirty to nine we were coming up Buena Vista Street, me along with another friend and one just popped out of the bush and stopped the vehicle and came into the back of the vehicle; It was a small four-day car. And then he pointed a gun at myself and the friend that was along with me and asked us to head towards Bullet Tree Road. When we went to Bullet Tree Road, about a hundred feet ahead of Bishop Martin Primary School, they asked us to turn right and about two hundred feet into the area, there were other guys waiting there for us and they were all wearing masks. So what they did was take me out and they tied my hands to my back, tied both my feet and they took away my chain, my bracelet and other belongings, my rings I had on me and they were demanding money from me. They also knocked me with the butt of the gun on my head and they also knocked me on my left ear, my left ear is swollen. And they also threatened me a lot, they said if I go to the police station and report this incident they will come back for me. I couldn’t recognise them in the dark because it was a very dark night.”
Jacqueline Woods
“One of the suspects that the police apprehended, because he was shot in his stomach, Mr. Delcid, they believe he is a Guatemalan national. Do you believe all are from across the border?”
Alfonso Cruz Jr.
“Yeah because they spoke to me in Spanish, they seem Hispanic because they spoke to me in Spanish, but used obscene language in English. But they spoke mostly Spanish to me. There was only one of them that was speaking directly to me and telling me to cooperate and asked me what was my name. I told them who I was and he told me just to be cooperative and they will let me go and just to give them some time because they were all going on another mission. So after a while, about two hours after they disappeared and when we managed to untie ourselves and get out of the vehicle, then about five minutes after I heard gunshots in the distance. So I believe that was when they had that confrontation, they exchanged fire with the policemen that were around patrolling that area.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Now you are the Mayor of the town where police believe these men have been operating. They are currently members of a criminal gang who have been holding up people in San Ignacio. As Mayor of that town and as victim of one of these incidents, what do you plan to do?”
Alfonso Cruz Jr.
“Well I plan to ask the Commissioner of Police, along with the Superintendent in San Ignacio to get more strict, to have more patrols in the different areas, especially the areas where these incidents are occurring. And also, to do their best in protecting our citizens because I wouldn’t like any of our citizens to undergo the same experience I went through.”
Although P.C. Jacobs has been with the force for two years, he has gained much respect among his fellow officers.
G. Michael Reid
“He’s one of those quiet guys, not one of the guys who are usually being disciplined or giving trouble as such. And we certainly are proud of his service with the department. He is a hard working guy and Superintendent Nicholas in San Ignacio has stated that much, one of his good workers. So certainly he is a credit to the department.”
A total of eight thousand dollars worth of jewellery was stolen from Mayor Cruz and his common-law wife. The wounded suspect, thirty-seven year old Guatemalan national, Portillo Delcid, is in a stable condition at the Belmopan Hospital. The other three suspects escaped into the bushes. According to Officer in Charge of San Ignacio Police, Superintendent Gilroy Nicholas, four other men have been detained and they expect to make an arrest over the weekend. Authorities believe Delcid is part of a criminal gang that has been operating in the area for quite sometime. He has also been implicated in a hold up and robbery that occurred in Spanish Lookout in December 2002. In that incident a salesman for Quality Poultry Products was tied up and robbed. Cayo police have been in contact with their counterparts across the border to assist in the investigation as it is believed that the suspects are all from Guatemala. Meanwhile, police are advising people in the Cayo District to be on the lookout for these individuals who are considered armed and dangerous. They strongly believe that the suspects may be the same group of individuals who have been holding up couples at a popular lover’s spot.
