They robbed a cop and get time to think about it

Ernie Miranda

Twenty-eight year old Ernie Miranda and thirty-one year old Edward Burns were both found guilty of robbery and abetment to commit robbery in the Magistrate’s Court today, following an incident during which a female telephone operator was held up at gunpoint.  Marilou Smith, an employee of the Belize Police Department, was walking to work in the early hours of November eleventh when she was accosted by Miranda and Burns on La Croix Boulevard.  According to Smith, the duo was riding on separate bicycles when she recognized Miranda as a resident of the neighborhood. His accomplice, described as a machete wielding dread man, stood watch while Miranda proceeded to rob her under the threat of being shot. The men got away with a cellular phone, as well as three hundred dollars in cash before Smith was able to radio for assistance from her colleagues.

Edward Burns

A mobile patrol later caught up with the pair but Miranda somehow managed to escape while Burns was immediately taken into custody.  Miranda has since been arrested and charged.  In court today, Burns denied ever robbing anyone in his life.  Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer, however, found him guilty of abetment to commit robbery and imposed a non-custodial sentence.  Despite the ruling, Burns is still not a free man tonight since he is currently serving a sentence for drug trafficking, as a well as for defaulting on a previous fine for possession of a controlled drug.  Miranda, on the other hand, was sentenced to seven years in absentia.  A committal warrant has been issued for his arrest and his term is to take effect today.