Despite the many criticisms that Vidal has received for his hard-nosed approach to policing, during his days as GSU commander, he has opted to take a progressive attitude this time around, preferring to tackle each issue on a day-to-day basis. Sr. Supt Marco Vidal, O.C., Eastern Division South “I think that it is best […]
Back in May, journalist and owner of Plus TV Louis Wade was taken before the Magistrate Court in San Ignacio and arraigned for common assault and use of insulting words. Those charges were levied on Wade months after a purported incident at the Santa Elena Sporting Complex with the son of Minister Rene Montero. There […]
A ballistics examiner employed with the National Forensic Science Service is still awaiting the result of a second application for bail following his conviction for abetment to perverting the course of justice. Orlando Vera was jailed for two years by Chief Magistrate Ann-Marie Smith following trial in the Magistrate’s Court. He was recorded telling Belmopan […]
But why can’t Vera apply directly to the court as a result of appealing his conviction? The answer lies in a change to the law that in fact limits his options, according to Sylvestre. Direct appeal to the court is only permissible for convictions on charges listed under the Crime Control and Criminal Justice Act, […]
Police are actively looking for a person of interest in the murder of Bangladeshi national Abdush Salam. The nude body of Salam was found in his Orange Street apartment by one of his housemate on Saturday night. It is believed that Salam invited a man to his room sometime after one-thirty that day, when he […]
He was wanted by Corozal Police for last Thursday’s chopping murder of Amilcar Omar Morales Gonzalez and the attempted murder of Doniver Ruano, but on Monday, police formally arrested and charged Arthur Joel Tzul, a resident of San Joaquin Village for the murder of Gonzalez in the Corozal District. In the immediate aftermath of the […]
Ladyville police have one person in custody following a shooting on Monday night. Around nine-thirty p.m., shots rang out on Pigeon Street as a gunman took aim at twenty-seven-year old Elward McKay, who was shot multiple times, to the back and chest. An unsuspecting McKay was riding his bicycle when his assailant rode up from […]
Belize City resident, Everal Gray, was convicted this morning in the Belize City Magistrate for drug trafficking. Gray, who is no stranger to the court, appeared before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser and changed his not guilty plea to one of guilty. He was sentenced to two more years in prison at the Belize Central Prison […]
A Bangladeshi national who operates a small business was strangled to death over the weekend. This afternoon police confirmed the cause of death after the nude body of Abdush Salam was found in his apartment by a roommate on Saturday afternoon. The motive behind the murder is not ascertained even though it is believed it […]
But there was other violence over the weekend in Belize City. On Friday night on Raccoon Street Extension, several blocks away from the Eastern Division South headquarters. In the cover of darkness, a gunman took aim at a group of men, hanging inside a yard. Several shots were fired, but only one bullet made its […]
Orange Walk Police were not available for comment today. Meanwhile, twenty-two-year-old Noe Gonzalez, nineteen year old Angel Cardenas and twenty-eight-year-old Mateo Pott are charged with the murders of Ramon Cervantes Senior and housewife Sonia Abac, who was similarly buried in the same area. As we told you, also accused is Manuel “El Pelon” Castillo. But […]
Corozal Southeast area representative Florencio Marin Junior rose on the House adjournment on Friday after colleague Julius Espat’s urgent plea regarding crime in his Cayo South. In Marin Junior’s constituency, police shot Richard Garcia dead in Chunox following an eviction attempt, leaving villagers riled up. Marin Junior contended that it can’t hurt to give police […]
Police have issued a warrant for the arrested of one Erwin Dail Santos, also known as Toluck, in connection with two recent murders in the west. Twenty-four year old Santos, who maintains residences in both Teakettle and Unitedville villages, is officially wanted according to a police notice for keeping unlicensed firearm and ammunition and threat […]
Are the skeletal remains found on William ‘Danny’ Mason’s sprawling property near La Democracia Village the bones of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas? That’s what court prosecutors are trying to confirm. This morning, the skull of the deceased Christian minister, who was allegedly decapitated at Mason’s farm in mid-July 2016, was exhumed. News Five is reliably informed […]
The illegal marijuana trade continues to flourish, as the prohibited substance remains the recreational drug of choice for a number of Belizeans. Local demand for weed has led to a significant increase in wholesale supply, a fact that is evidenced in a sizeable bust on Sunday evening. At approximately six-thirty p.m., a joint operation involving […]
The lucrative business, though very much unlawful, has seemingly expanded to include church ministers turned drug traffickers as well. On Friday evening, forty-five-year-old Mark Humes, a pastor of Burrell Boom Village, was busted at a checkpoint near the corners of Victoria Street and New Road. He was driving his taxi when he was pulled over […]
Two topics addressed on the adjournment are carrying a lot of currency at the moment. While Belize City has been mostly crime and murder-free for a few weeks, there has been a spike in murders across the Cayo District dating back to 2016. It has been largely concentrated in the villages immediately west of the […]
The Cayo South Area Representative also called out the officer commanding Belmopan, Senior Superintendent Howell Gillett. Gillett told News Five on Monday that while the search was continuing for murder victim Mark Mendez, police would actively pursue those who burned tires on the highway last Saturday for causing a disruption of traffic activity. The senior […]
A domestic dispute among members of a Ladyville family has resulted in the alleged torching of a property in the Milpa Site area of the village. According to thirty-four-year-old Lorna Bardalez, she woke up shortly before midnight on Thursday and discovered that an adjacent wooden structure belonging to her cousin was on fire. The small […]
A villager from San Joaquin, Corozal, this morning lost his life in a horrific way. He was attacked with a machete and chopped to the head. Twenty one year old Amilcar Omar Morales Gonzalez and his close friend twenty year old Doniver Ruano had been partying throughout Wednesday night. This morning at around three they […]
On Monday, we told you about the store manager who was robbed over the weekend by two men who lay waited him at the airstrip in Ranchito, Corozal. Today, police say they have looked at surveillance footage but it has not been very useful because the video quality is poor but it does confirm that […]
Four years ago, Belize ranked among the Tier Two nations in the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons report. This year, we have been named as the worst trafficking offender in Central America, and comparable only to Haiti and Suriname in the Caribbean. The recently released report states bluntly, “The Government of Belize does not […]
Williams’ departure from Belize City has raised serious concerns about the fate of the existing gang truce which was struck several weeks ago with various rival groups. Those individuals have also sought the assistance of Williams and others, including Dianne Finnegan and Nuri Muhammad, in staging interventions. Today, a handful of young men from those […]
San Pedro Police are looking for a man wanted in connection of a murder that occurred six months ago. Twenty-eight-year-old Vildo Westby is said to be armed and dangerous and police are asking if you see him to call 9-1-1 or the nearest police station. Westby is known to live between Belize City and the […]
ACP Chester Williams is recognized for minimizing the bloodshed in the Old Capital, specifically as it relates to gang-related violence. Earlier this year, Williams and his team of mediators, including Dianne Finnegan, introduced a gang truce which has had success. Ahead of his departure to take up a desk job as the Commander of the […]
