Family of six locked down for a firearm

Lidia Estrada

After three nights in lock down at the Belize City Queen Street Police station, a family of six including a mother, her common-law husband, and their four sons, were all remanded to prison. The family was arraigned this morning on three criminal offenses: Kept Firearm, Ammunition and Drug Trafficking. On Friday, the Gang Suppression Unit reported it found a firearm, eight live rounds of ammunitions and six hundred and nineteen grams of suspected cannabis, in the ceiling of the Merrib’s Church, which serves as part of the perimeter fence to the family’s house on Victoria Street. The six persons who were in the house and have been charged are: Lidia Estrada, Frank Jones, Dion Jones, Michael Jones, Richard Jones, and Rick Jones. The Jones’ appeared unrepresented and took a not guilty plea. Their arrests caused the entire Victoria Street community to gather outside the court room in support.  They are expected to return to court on September twenty-fourth, 2013.