Charges against accused teen thief upped to murder

Charges against a Belize City teenager have been upgraded to murder after the man he shot during an armed robbery died. According to police, sixteen year old Freedom Street resident Inmar Welch, originally charged with Robbery, was rearrested and charged with Murder after Punta Gorda money collector Darwin Pate succumbed to his wounds on Saturday at Belize Medical Associates. On December twentieth, Pate had been standing at the corner of North and Main Streets in PG when a lone gunman ambushed and shot him. The motive behind the crime was to steal Pate’s knapsack, which contained the day’s sales for Bowen and Bowen distributor, Arthur Johnson. Police were later tipped off that the prime suspect was leaving the southern town by plane under an assumed name and when the flight landed in Belize City, cops were waiting. In addition to the Robbery and Murder charges, Welch is also accused of a Mischievous Act for travelling under a false name.