A visiting father of one was to return to the United States this Thursday after spending the holidays here, but his life was cut short before he could make the journey back to New York. Thirty-seven-year-old Jermain Ryan Vellos and his wife, Stephanie, had just arrived at a Belama home from a nearby shop when […]
At this time, a vigil is taking place to celebrate the life of the fallen barber, Fareed Ahmad and we’ll come to that. But tonight the Ahmad family believes they are under heavy police surveillance. Assistant Commissioner of Police Chester Williams is on record saying that they are not. An incident this afternoon, however, confirms […]
Aside from the alleged surveillance, text messages purportedly indicating that Fareed Ahmad had been threatened and coerced by members of the Special Assignments Team prior to his murder are said to be in the possession of his family. Those electronic correspondences were set to be reviewed with investigators today, but there is a lack of […]
The homes of the Ahmads were raided by officers attached to the Special Branch during a predawn operation in Hattieville in June 2016. That close watch by law enforcement reportedly became a nuisance to members of the family, including Fareed, who was stopped and searched by the Special Assignments Team at the intersection of Vernon […]
With the passing of Fareed Ahmad last Wednesday, what becomes of the initial complaint filed against the Special Assignments Team? It’s a question that was posed to ACP Williams. He says that the statement given by Ahmad is being looked into, in order to determine whether he was indeed violated by the officers. Likewise, Williams […]
Is 2017 the deadliest year ever? The official count for homicides stood at one hundred and forty-four when 2017 came to an end. But there are three cases involving four persons for which the results of DNA are still pending. If confirmed, this would bring the total number of murders up to a staggering one […]
Over the years, we’ve reported the Belize Department’s community policing initiatives. Locally, a number of programs are used to combat crime – but it is no secret that this softer side to policing is not fully embraced by all rank and file of the department. While a full report to show its impact is not […]
2017 was a record year for murders in recent history – one shy of the 2012 murder count. And three days into the New Year, there have been two murders already. It is still too early to tell what the numbers will look like for the rest of the year, but the concern is real […]
In this our first newscast for 2018, we start with a story which was the headline at the close of 2017; the murder of popular barber Fareed Ahmad. This morning, a heavily armed detail of police officers cordoned off the perimeter of the magistrates’ court in Belize City from as early as eight o’clock, well […]
On the night of December twenty-seventh, WPC Brown reportedly signed off from duty at the Raccoon Street Police Station around eight p.m. and is said to have departed the compound with her service weapon. That firearm, a Bersa brand nine millimeter handgun, as it turns out, was to have been delivered to her superior. When […]
Despite facing a single charge of murder, the police constable has opted not to provide a caution statement. Instead, she has clammed up by exercising her right to remain silent. But eyewitnesses attest that Brown was the sole passenger inside Ahmad’s vehicle at the time of the incident. Likewise, investigators confirm that Ahmad was able […]
While police offered details of their investigation this morning, two of the Ahmad siblings, Taheera and Abdul, flanked by the leader of the Muslim Community, Kaleem El-Amin, their father Abdus Ahmad and attorney Dickie Bradley, made known their views on Fareed’s murder this afternoon. Expressing gratitude for the support they have been receiving in their […]
The Ahmad family has since been told that while the internal inquiry is being carried out by ACP Chester Williams, Inspector Wilfredo Ferrufino is heading the murder investigation. The family also took the opportunity to dispel all allegations that Fareed and the WPC were involved and that information shared with the Professional Standards Branch suggests […]
This is not the first incident involving the Ahmad family. Back in June of 2016, the Special Patrols Unit conducted an early morning raid at their family homes. Later on, a cousin was killed in Philippines during a purported recruitment to join ISIS. While police has made no links to this, one of the last […]
Fareed’s father was philosophical about the way of life of his family. He believes that following the Muslim religion has led to a straight and narrow up-bringing of his children. Abdus Ahmad, Father of Deceased “We have made a lot of striving a lot of effort; sacrificing the discipline from our religion, our conduct […]
Within hours of the start of the New Year, a Belize City man was murdered. At about three-thirty on the morning of January first, Leon Garcia was savagely stabbed by members of at least three gangs. He was along with Raheem Reed and others walking on Barrack Road when they came under attack by at […]
While Garcia was the first murder for 2018, police closed off the year with another murder on their hands, bringing the total of murders for 2017 at a staggering one hundred and forty-four. Around ten-thirty, a long time resident of Antelope Street Extension was murdered execution style and left to die in a drain. Fredrick […]
Belizean authorities are investigating the remnants of a burnt aircraft discovered off the Coastal Road. The airplane was found in a remote area near an illegal landing strip. Police say that they are unable to say if the aircraft was being used to carry illicit cargo such as drugs. On Sunday, December thirty-first, sometime around […]
Two Corozal men are hospitalized following an attack in a village in the north. According to Police, a man reported that a group of men attacked him with a machete on New Year’s Day. The man told police that he stabbed one of his attackers in self-defense. Today both men are in the hospital with […]
Several arrests have been made in a string of crimes that have been committed across the country over the past three weeks. In the case of the theft of copper wire in the Corozal District, police have arrested and charged Brian Hyde in connection with that incident in San Joaquin Village. He is also the […]
Teacher Desmond Lewis was brutally killed in the early hours of the morning of December twenty-eight sent shockwaves among his colleagues and the Dangriga Community. The teacher’s throat was slashed and he was stabbed to the upper chest. It happened inside his friend’s home in Belize City but Lewis was last seen with a male […]
Twenty-nine-year-old Charles Fortune is recovering from a gunshot wound to the right knee after being injured on Monday night by an unidentified assailant who opened fire on him on Ebony Street. He told Belize City police that he was seated inside a vehicle when he heard shots being fired. Fortune realized shortly afterwards that he […]
The holiday weekend wasn’t without its share of arsons. In the north and south there were two cases reported of the criminal burning of properties. On Saturday night, at around seven-thirty, Dangriga police were called out to an area along the Southern Highway where they saw a twenty-by-twenty feet wooden and thatched house engulfed in […]
A female law enforcement officer is tonight a prime suspect in the shooting death of thirty-eight-year-old Fareed Ahmad. Woman Police Constable Michelle Brown remains in stable condition at the K.H.M.H. under close watch by her colleagues, as it is expected that she will be questioned upon release from the hospital. A thorough investigation into the […]
It is unclear what injuries WPC Brown sustained during the collision, as she simply complained of pain to her body following the accident. What is of particular interest is that the businessman had made a complaint against members of the Special Assignment Team, a unit to which Brown was assigned, several hours earlier. Their acquaintance […]
