Back in June 2015, police charged two officers on duty at the Caye Caulker police station with the murder of eighteen-year-old Hilberto Sotz who was killed while in police custody. Today, after ten months on remand, in a directive the DPP’s office instructed that the charge of murder be downgraded to manslaughter against police officers […]
A year ago, gunmen executed forty-year old Edward “Ghost” Usher, a resident of Mayflower Street while he was on the steps of his house in the Ghost Town area in Belize City. Police detained teenager, Percival Pilgrim, as the gunman in the broad daylight shooting. At the conclusion of a preliminary inquiry for Pilgrim today, […]
Tonight we can report that there is some progress in the investigation of an allegation of a disturbing crime in Dangriga. Police have been encountering difficulties in getting a formal complaint from a minor who was allegedly sexually violated by her stepfather on March thirty-first at her home. The minor has cerebral palsy, and cannot […]
In December of 2015, we reported on the embezzlement of over ten thousand dollars in cash from the Post Office in Belize City. Second-grade cashier from Orange Walk, Sergio Patt, was being investigated because checks made by the supervisor of the Express Mail Section of the Post Office detected discrepancies in the records. Further checks […]
Three persons were formally charged late this evening in Belmopan for the attempted murder of Jose Gonzales. Gonzales was along with Maya Mopan resident, Luis Ortiz on Sunday morning just before he was killed and his body and vehicle dumped in the Belize River near the Agripino Cawich Bridge in Camalote. While they were not […]
It’s relatively common knowledge that high-quality marijuana is being systematically brought in from Mexico and distributed to local areas heavily trafficked by tourists – like San Pedro and Caye Caulker and Placencia. It’s also common knowledge that while Police have been able to seize some of those shipments coming by road, that’s probably a drop […]
There was a home invasion in the Camalote Village, Cayo District, where burglars got away with a gun and jewelry valued at over five thousand dollars. On Tuesday, Roaring Creek Police visited the residence of thirty-three-year-old Gladwin Penner, who reported that while he was at his ranch on the Hummingbird Highway, his housekeeper called say […]
The United States Embassy in Belize has released its 2015 Human Rights Report. The comprehensive study which looks at human rights violations highlights excessive use of force by the police, lengthy pretrial detention, as well as harassment and threats based on sexual orientation or gender identity. On the issue of police brutality, the case of […]
Since Assistant Commissioner of Police Chester Williams effected a citywide curfew roughly one month ago, various sectors, including parents, government departments and non-government organizations have raised concerns about the housing of minors picked up off the streets of Belize City after nine p.m. That disquiet prompted ACP Williams to return to the drawing board in […]
Was thirty-one-year-old Anwar Vernon murdered? It’s a baffling case that has Belize City police stumped. Vernon had been admitted to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital a week ago, after being found unresponsive in a drain. He was observed with varying degrees of injuries, however, it is yet to be confirmed what caused Vernon’s wounds and […]
The weekly meet and greet exercise conducted by Belize City police was concentrated in the Saint Martin’s area this afternoon where officers of varying ranks descended on the streets of that neighborhood. While the men and women of law enforcement made their rounds, they were being commended on the implementation of a recent curfew for […]
The official jury is still out on the shooting of B.D.F. Staff Sergeant Richard Lambey on Holy Saturday. There has been progress in the multiple subsequent investigations, enough for a determination that it is very likely the shooters were Guatemalan residents of a small community known as La Rejoya. But there is also a suggestion […]
The Friends for Conservation and Development is responsible for the monitoring and management of the Chiquibul, an area roughly the size of Belize City. It’s a challenging task, to say the least, and Manzanero says that part of the challenge is that the dynamics of encroachment are constantly changing. Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, FCD […]
Illegal milpa farming may be the biggest challenge facing rangers in the Chiquibul, but the most dangerous one is drug cultivation which has been on the rise. Manzanero says that in some areas which are hotspots for marijuana growing, rangers stay away. He continues to call on the Belize Defense Force to have an active […]
There are still no charges being brought against six men who were detained for the murder of Maya Mopan resident, Luis Ortiz. Ortiz was killed on Sunday morning; his body dumped in the river near the Agripino Cawich Bridge in Camalote. His vehicle was also discovered partially submerged in the Belize River. His friend, Jose […]
Dangriga Police are currently awaiting the results of an evaluation to determine if a minor in that jurisdiction is able to provide a statement to them. The minor has cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder which affects the part of the brain that controls muscle movement, coordination and speech. Her mother reported to Police that on […]
Where is fourteen year old Drina Stevens? That’s the question that her mother Lavern Arzu is asking as it’s been almost a week since the second form student of Georgetown Technical High School has not returned home. Drina, a resident of Seine Bight, was seen leaving for school last week Wednesday when she got on […]
Six persons are tonight in custody following the murder of a Belmopan resident. Luis Ortiz and Juan Gonzales were ambushed inside Ortiz vehicle and taken to an area near the Roaring Creek cemetery. Gonzales was badly beaten but he played dead and that saved his life. Ortiz’s body was found within eight hours in the […]
We report on all manner of unpleasant allegations made in the criminal arena, but there are some which truly turn the stomach. Tonight, Stann Creek Police have allegedly detained one man after he was accused of raping his stepdaughter, ill with cerebral palsy. According to the official report, on the thirty-first of March the child, […]
Where is Albert Johnson? The family of the woodcarver and father of two teenage daughters became concerned after a group of police officers came to their home in Belmopan, demanding that they hand over Johnson. According to the family, the officers claimed that he had escaped from police custody on Sunday after being in detention […]
There are two murders to report tonight. An eighteen-year-old Ladyville resident, Merkel Pitts was shot on Thursday night and by this afternoon he was dead at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. But is the shooting death an act of retaliation, following the gangland-style execution of Rene ‘Fat Cat’ Chavarria a few weeks ago? Pitts was […]
Meanwhile, in the Corozal District sometime between Thursday night and this morning, the bullet riddled body of a cane farmer was discovered near the village of Santa Rosa. Fifty-one-year-old Gregorio Abel Espinosa was discovered by members of his family this morning when they decided to enter the area in search of their loved one. It […]
A meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala scheduled for this Friday has been postponed for sometime next week. It would have discussed the new stance by Guatemala in the Sarstoon where it is exerting control over the island. Guatemala, it is known, does not want to discuss the Sarstoon nor does it […]
The Minster of National Security John Saldivar was also asked today about the most recent Sarstoon incident. He offered few details on the aggression by the Guatemalan Armed Forces against the SATIIM rangers. Saldivar says that he has not received an official report, but that the actions taken by GAF against SATIIM are unacceptable. […]
The government, particularly Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, has come under fire for a perception of timidity where negotiations with Guatemala are concerned. There has been a consistent criticism that the matter has not been treated with a sense of urgency, and has not been internationalized as a priority. That may or may not have been […]
