No drugs but checkpoints yield illegal guns, owners

And while the operation of the Carmelita checkpoint may be of dubious legality, its presence has resulted in several arrests. In one case police arrested two men in a pickup truck carrying a sawed-off sixteen gauge shotgun with a single cartridge. David Middleton of Carmelita and Abel Camara of Guinea Grass were charged with keeping a prohibited weapon and unlicensed ammunition.

In a more serious incident on Tuesday evening, a blue Ford Crown Victoria with Cayo license plates ran through the checkpoint and took off down the Guinea Grass road. As the vehicle neared Shipyard, the driver lost control and ran into the bush. Police apprehended the three occupants, all of whom were dressed in camouflage clothing. Inside the car they also found a ski mask and nine millimetre Luger pistol loaded with fifteen rounds. A further search of the crash scene this morning resulted in the discovery of a tech nine automatic. Thirty year old Jerome Goff, twenty-eight year old Dwayne Bishop, and twenty-three year old Trenton Smith, all of Belize City, have been charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammo and remanded to Hattieville Prison until April seventh. Additional charges are expected to be filed shortly.