Jasmark Arnold, Charged With Aggravated Burglary & Wounding, Denied Bail

Jasmark Arnold

He is accused of entering the home of food vendor, Elvia Cal at her Rio Grande Crescent home off Faber’s Road Extension in Belize City and stabbing Cal and her helper, Maria Pinto, on their arms and shoulders. They knocked a gun out of his hand and fought back on the afternoon of November fifteenth, 2019.  Cal had told the media soon after the incident that the intruder demanded money and pulled a gun on them as they were offloading their pots from a pick-up truck to take into the house after the day’s sales.  But when the women, with the help of a relative, fought back with a machete and disarmed Arnold of the gun, he allegedly pulled a knife from off the kitchen table and stabbed the women, before running off with a bag containing the money from the food sales.  Police managed to apprehend Arnold last week and subsequently charged him with Aggravated Burglary and Wounding.  He appeared this morning before Supreme Court Justice, Marilyn Williams seeking bail after it was denied at the Magistrate’s Court last week. But his luck was not much better today because his bail application was denied again. Arnold’s Attorney, Ronnie Gonzalez tried to convince the court that the accused is not a flight risk because he is a Belizean and that he has moved away from the immediate area where he resided, not far from Cal’s home.  He argued that Cal is innocent until proven guilty and that his freedom is not a privilege but a right.  But Justice Williams denied the application on grounds that Arnold has been positively identified by the victims, the gravity of the assault, and that the victims are also entitled to their right to safety.  She considered the hour of the home invasion – broad daylight – and said that it is an offence that can be committed again.  The judge said set a date for July thirty-first, for the case against Arnold to commence and said that he can apply at another time before the trial for bail, if he so wishes. After the attack, Police had recovered a point twenty-two revolver which they say was the weapon used to accost the women, along with the attacker used to stab them, and the machete that Cal’s relative used to ward off the thief.