Major break in Carnival Day grenade scare
Police made a sensational announcement today with the arrest of a nineteen year old Belize City man ten days after a hand grenade was hurled at a crowd during the last leg of the Carnival Road March on Princess Margaret Drive on September sixth. Richard Flores, of Buttonwood Bay, appeared in court twice today but the serious charges were slapped on him this afternoon: Carrying Ammunition without a Gun License, and thirteen counts of Attempted Murder. Flores, accompanied by his attorney, Dickie Bradley, appeared before Magistrate Sharon Fraser and was remanded to Hattieville Prison until October twenty-ninth. Bradley has already began to put holes in the arrest and in defense of Flores, Bradley told the media that his client took responsibility for the grenade after he was beaten up and he intends to prove that.
Dickie Bradley, Attorney for Richard Torres
“You were present so you heard him explain to the magistrate that he was beaten and tortured for the expressed purpose of getting him to sign a statement. Normally that si an indication to us that whatever information the police has, somehow they feel like that can’t be enough for them to have a successful case. Therefore, they result to breaking the law and beating an accused person in order to obtain a confession. “
Marion Ali
“Of course, this is his word against theirs though, nothing proving that they beat him.”
Dickie Bradley
“Why would you take the suspect from Belize City, from an undisclosed location; he was no longer at the Queen Street Police Station, he was not at the Raccoon Street Police Station. By the time you would have picked up somebody, you would have had some information to satisfy you that I have my man, I have my suspect. Why do you need to take him to Belmopan and subject him to something unless you believe that he is so crossly and he is such a liar that he just decides to make that up because he told everybody that he came in contact with and have been able to show some of the markings on his body. So that is the unfortunate situation and that is why you will see the United States of America and possibly the United Kingdom, that they video tape, that you put on camera any discussion with a suspect in relation to any questioning and any answers that he gives. We want to have a proper record. We can’t just move people around the place, taking them to some undisclosed location and so on. So yes, it is his word but there is a process for that in the supreme court when a person alleges and accuses the police of beating a confession out of him.”
“He is charged with Carrying Ammunition. That is the charge. He is charged with Carrying Ammunition and the details of the charge is that the ammunition that he carried is a hand grenade. So Magistrate Sharon Fraser is a trained lawyer, she is in fact an attorney like myself and in seeing that any trained lawyer will see that something is a little incongruous in that matter, something … because a hand grenade is an explosive device; ammunition is a part of something that explodes when something else deals with it. So we just had the charge sheet and just had an opportunity to speak to the accused but it is strange wording for attorneys but you accused the person of having a hand grenade, you accused the person of having an explosive device. But it might be neither here no there in the actual fact that they’re claiming he had a hand grenade.”
“This is not a person that fits the profile of those who are in fact a menace to society and a threat to society. This is in fact somebody who, up until the summer, was in school. He had tried to continue school this month September and the family is asking him to still try to do that. This doesn’t fit the normal profile of somebody who is known to the police if you could use that terminology. You don’t need to resort to beating anybody. You have the best evidence. So the minute you need to do that it’s an indication to us that what our client says to us, that there is truth to it. It helps us when we judge the behaviour of the police.”
Marion Ali
“And based on that, will you be going to court now hoping to get the matter thrown out or withdrawn before it reaches the Supreme Court stage on the grounds that they are unlawfully keeping your client in custody?”
Dickie Bradley
“Well, the first thing we will do is, under the law we’re entitled to see those who are alleging against him, that they had given statements to that effect and we will look through those statements carefully. On the basis of that, we will make our submissions to the court.”
Marion Ali
“What’s his family saying?”
Dickie Bradley
“The family swears that during the course of the Carnival, they were all at home watching the carnival on television, that the time that they can recall he left home to go pick up a friend and then go to his girlfriend, that by then this problem of shooting and grenade had already occurred and he also says that. So we will see what the other side will say and it is out of that we will make our submissions to the court.”
When he appeared in court this morning, Flores along with his seventeen year old brother, twenty-one year old sister and forty-six year old mother were charged with two counts of possession of a controlled drug. According to police, on September thirteenth, they executed a search at Flores’ home where they found point five grams of cannabis and one point nine grams of cannabis seeds. All four pleaded not guilty. Because the new amendment to the firearm legislation now prohibits a Magistrate to grant bail, Bradley will apply to the Supreme Court tomorrow for bail for his client.
After the charges were made against Richard Flores, the police held a five p.m. press conference at the Queen Street Police station to fill in the details. Sitting at the head table was the officer commanding C.I.B., Julio Valdez and the point man on the investigation Deputy Officer Commanding C.I.B., Hilberto Romero. Romero spoke about the charges and said that he has no knowledge of any violence used against Flores as alleged by his attorney Dickie Bradley.
Inspector Hilberto Romero, Deputy O.C., C.I.B.
“We have thirteen counts of Attempted Murder and one count of Carrying Ammunition without a License. We conducted a thorough investigation, an intensive investigation. We’ve interviewed several persons, we’ve had several video clips and based on the evidence we’ve gotten, we have sufficient to charge Richard Flores for throwing this grenade on that particular day.”
Jose Sanchez
“Does the tape actually show him actually throwing anything?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“I cannot divulge that. We have the evidence together and we have charged him.”
Jose Sanchez
“Is he fleeing the scene?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“Again, I cannot release that information.”
Jose Sanchez
“Some reports are saying that this gentleman was taken to Belmopan and beaten by the police. Was there any use of force to try to get him to make a confession or to make a statement? Was there anything of the sort…?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“I have no information that any force whatsoever was used upon him. I can tell you that we did an investigation here and based on that investigation the evidence is showing that he was the person that threw that grenade and that is the reason he is being charged for that particular crime.”
Jacqueline Godwin, Channel Seven
“So he is the person that pulled the pin and threw the grenade?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“That is the information and the evidence that we have at this time, correct.”
Jose Sanchez
“Is there anyone else that is linked to him and where he might have gotten this grenade from?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“Well, this investigation is still ongoing. We know that grenades are not sold in Belize and we are investigating where this grenade came from; the origin. We’re looking at that and to determine this person managed to get this grenade.”
Reporter
“How do you arrive at the numbers of persons that you charged him for Attempted Murder?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“Well, that is a list of persons we have obtained statements that we can certainly put that were present immediately at that scene. However, the list is a large amount and we continue to work on the amount and it is certain that we will levy further charges on Mr. Richard Flores. Our investigation is showing that this was a gang related incident. It was a retaliation between two gangs.”
Jacqueline Godwin
“Which gangs?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“I do not want to get into specifics as to which gangs but we have that it is gang related.”
Jacqueline Godwin
“Which gang is he a member of?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“Again, I do not wish to divulge that information. We are still investigating and down the road we can probably put it.”
Jose Sanchez
“Have you done any search of his premises or of his home to see if he has any other similar explosives?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“Several searches have been conducted. We are utilising the canine section to help us with all the searches. As we speak right now some searches are being conducted in areas of persons that we believe are affiliated with him to see if any other grenades are there.”
Jose Sanchez
“That grenade was linked to the British troops here in Belize. Have they found in their investigation any other grenade of that type to be missing?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“An investigation is being conducted by BATSUB and upon the conclusion of their investigation they will pass on that information to us.”
Jose Sanchez
“Do you not think it is in the public interest to know which two gangs you are investigating?”
Insp. Hilberto Romero
“Well, perhaps it is in the public’s interest. On a later date we will release that information.”
The police believe that they have sufficient evidence against Flores and sources close to News Five say that the incident is gang related and that additional arrests may follow.
