Epefania Caliz Arraigned on Common Assault Charges

Epifania Caliz

Epifania Caliz is back in court after she and her common-law husband Elmer Nah, along with her brother Manuel Caliz, were acquitted of ammunition charges earlier this month. Today, she appeared inside the Belize City Magistrates Court to answer to a different charge, common assault. On October sixteenth, court reporter, Anita Nembhard was on duty at the Belize City Magistrates Court when Caliz appeared to have intentionally coughed in her face. Nembhard caught the act on camera while recording Caliz walking out of the Magistrates Court where the trials for the ammunition charges were being heard. Nembhard proceeded to press charges against Caliz. She claims that police gave her the runaround before taking her report. Well this morning, Caliz appeared to answer to a single charge of common assault upon Nembhard. Initially, the court issued a bench warrant for Caliz because she was not present when her name was called by the court officer. Caliz turned up only moments after the warrant was issued and she pleaded not guilty. The thirty-five-year-old public officer was granted bail in the sum of eight hundred dollars. We spoke with Nembhard who says that a request has been made for her to keep her distance from Caliz.

Anita Nembhard

Anita Nembhard, Court Reporter

“I am very happy that I have finally been able to get through to the Belize Police Department that wrong was done to me. I know that and they are finally able to investigate and bring charges against Ms. Epifania Caliz. That was all I was asking for from the beginning. To have to go through so much just for them to hear me, that was unfair. for a couple minutes it appeared that she was going to be a no show, was that concerning for you? How it played out a few minutes ago I was not surprised. But I still want to put the department; I challenge the department to do their job. I don’t care who it is, all of us deserve that the department do their jobs when we go and make a report, because if I would have decided to do something to Ms Caliz that day my right would have turned wrong. All I want them to do is to do their job. I have heard a lot of comments and the first thing I have to think about is my family. If I had reacted how everybody thing you should react, I would have made my right wrong. The heart that I have, I don’t have that kind of heart, even when wrong was done to me; I knew was to do the right thing. So I thought of my family. I know if Epifania Caliz had thought first of her family she wouldn’t have acted that ugly towards me. I had been covering that story for months.”