“Family friend” steals jewellery from Belize City judge

A Belize City teenager has been arrested, charged, and fined for robbing a Magistrate of the Court of more than six thousand dollars. According to the authorities, last November Magistrate Roberto Ordonez reported that a gold chain and gold bracelet went missing from his home on Raccoon Street. But Ordonez didn’t write off his property, instead he made sure the cops conducted regular checks at local pawn shops. Last week, investigating officers hit the jackpot. In the store window of the J.E.C. Pawn Shop on Youth for the Future Boulevard, Ordonez was shocked to see his jewellery staring back at him. But what really made his jaw drop was that the name of the person who pawned the items was none other than a family friend, identified as Jamal Canto. Canto appeared before Magistrate Dorothy Flowers today where he pleaded guilty to the charges of robbery and handling stolen goods. Before sentencing, Canto told the court, “I am sorry big time.” Flowers fined the defendant two thousand dollars for the robbery and seven hundred and fifty dollars for handling stolen goods. Canto has until the end of March to pay up or he will spend a year and seven months behind bars.