2 Charged in Aggravated Burglary Case

Nicoli Rhys

A well-known George Street figure and his girlfriend will be spending their second night on remand at the Belize Central Prison for allegedly committing an aggravated burglary at the home of businessman, Mario Galvez of Red House. Nicoli Rhys and Ester Garcia appeared before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser late on Wednesday evening and arraigned for aggravated burglary with a firearm and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary upon Galvez respectively. Galvez is the ex-boyfriend of Garcia.  Allegations are that on May twenty-second, 2017, the duo and three men visited Galvez’s home in the Belama area and assaulted him.  Rhys was reportedly armed.  In court, the couple pleaded not guilty to the charges and both were denied bail and remanded into custody at the Belize Central prison until July twenty-fifth 2017.   Before leaving court and during their arraignment, both Rhys and Garcia asked to explain their situation.

Ester Garcia

According to Garcia, Galvez fabricated the entire story against them because he is obsessed with her. She further claimed that when he saw her with Rhys, he got upset and threatened her.  Rhys claimed that at the time of the alleged assault, he was nowhere near Galvez’s home and that he also fabricated the story against him. In court, her mother asked permission to speak, but Senior Magistrate Fraser explained to her that since she is not before the court on any charge, she could not hear from her at this time.  Galvez reported to police that on Monday, Garcia first called him on his cell phone and later came knocking at his door, saying she needed to speak with him. He claims that when he answered the door, he was ambushed. The men then stormed into his house and stole his wallet containing six hundred dollars.