5 inmates brawl in cell while waiting for judge

An all-out brawl among a group of five inmates, inside a holding cell at the Magistrate’s Court in Belize City, has resulted in additional charges being levied against the feuding men.  While it has long since been speculated that the casual practice of detaining rival gang members in a singular lockup is deliberate, the melee which unfolded shortly before ten o’clock this morning may be proof of that theory.  Ron Lee Petillo, Tyrone Meighan, Kendale Greene, Matthew Smith and Jermaine Belgrave were each awaiting an appearance before Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith when a fight broke out.  It is alleged that Smith attacked Belgrave and proceeded to hit him several times to the body.  Petillo, who, along with Smith, is on remand for murder, attempted to intervene on his behalf.  That’s when tempers flared and a shiv was reportedly produced.  During the scuffle Petillo received a cut wound to his hand.  Tyrone Meighan, who is also in custody on a separate charge of murder, sustained an injury to the head when he slipped and fell.  A police officer, who attempted to break up the chaos, was also cut on the left hand.  Following the incident, four inmates were escorted by CIB personnel to the Queen Street Police Station.  Belgrave, a member of the Taylor’s Alley Gang, was later transported to the precinct where he was also charged for his involvement in the fracas.