Cops shoot illegal hunter in Cockscomb, then charge him

A farmer from the Stann Creek district is tonight on remand at Hattieville Prison following a shooting incident last week in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. In a press release issued by the sanctuary’s co-manager, the Belize Audubon Society, on February twenty-sixth their rangers accompanied by police officers from Hopkins Village, conducted a joint patrol to investigate suspected illegal hunting. During the night the team says they came face to face with Jose Oh, a resident of the area. But before they could detain him, cops say Oh pointed his shotgun at the patrol and they were forced to shoot him. The bullet struck Oh in the chest and the injured man was rushed to the Southern Regional Hospital for treatment. He spent the last week recovering from his injuries but was deemed well enough to be formally arraigned this morning on charges of Illegal Entry and Illegal Hunting under the National Protected Areas System Act. The accused was additionally charged with Possession of an Unlicensed Firearm and Ammunition and Aggravated Assault. According to Audubon officials, this is the second time Oh has illegally entered the protected area as he was previously issued a warning after he was busted for fishing in the sanctuary.