At about five thirty this evening, a verdict was delivered in the case of four men charged for the double murder of James Swan Junior and Edwardo Gutierrez back in January 2009. The jury of twelve returned a verdict of not guilty for Murder and Manslaughter against Brionne Swift, Victor Garnett, Frank Edwards Junior and […]
Twenty-seven year old Lauren Rosalez is also tonight behind bars following an incident during which she, along with her common-law husband, forty-nine year old businessman Ryan Swift, assaulted his cousin with a shovel. She is on remand, but he is on bail. On May twenty-fourth, fifty-five year old Errol White reported to police that he […]
A policeman, his brother and friend were all granted bail today after being remanded last week in connection with a stolen government vehicle. The Toyota Hilux was taken by a brazen thief who was caught on camera as he walked gingerly into the Central Health Region Compound on May eighth and drove off in truck. […]
Another man has been charged in connection with the murder of forty-nine year old Brian Welch who was gunned down on Faber’s Road on April twenty-ninth of this year. Twenty-two year old Henry Jacobs appeared in court today where he was read a single charge of murder. No plea was taken and since the offense […]
Forty-one year old, Yolanda Garcia, owner of Serenita’s bar on Regent Street West was found guilty of human trafficking of a seventeen year old employee. In February of this year Garcia, a Honduran national, was convicted of the crime and sentenced to one year in prison. But she is appealing the conviction and today, Garcia […]
The infamous Brian Brown was on the run for a week, after the GSU spent hours raiding his Fabers Road property on May sixteenth and found a cache of illegal items, including cocaine. Brown, accompanied by Attorney Dickie Bradley, handed himself over to police on Wednesday and was taken to court this afternoon. The arraignment […]
Trial began today against one four persons accused of killing San Pedro Security Guard, Antonio Almendarez during a burglary at Fido’s Restaurant on July twenty-sixth 2005. Shandoy Jeffords was charged, not with murder, but with Manslaughter. The allegations are that when Almendarez was tied up and gagged, injuries were caused to his neck which proved […]
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court struck out a third election petition from the March seventh general elections. The Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin found that there was no evidence against opposition leader Francis Fonseca for bribery. This afternoon, the court decided on the fourth, in which P.U.P. aspirant Orlando Habet was challenging Elvin Penner of the […]
We reported on Wednesday that Marsha Reid, the common-law-wife of murdered B.D.F. corporal Donovan Castillo, was released after forty-eight hours in custody. Well, her freedom was short-lived as today she was formally arrested and charged with Murder. Reid was arraigned in Belmopan this afternoon and is now on remand at the Central Prison among few […]
While the Supreme Court was dealing with election petitions, in the Magistrate’s Court, a trio of thieves, including a sixteen year old minor, was indicted on criminal charges ranging from aggravated burglary to firearm and ammunition possession following a brazen home invasion in Belize City on Tuesday night. Businessman Carlos Peraza, of Freetown Road, reported […]
The shooting deaths of a twenty-eight year old man followed by the shooting of his eleven year old cousin caused outbursts by family members in front of the Magistrate’s Court this morning. Two men were charged separately for the murders of twenty-eight year old Kaylon Matura and eleven year old Daniel Matura. The first to […]
The residuals of the March seventh general elections may finally be fading away. The Martin Galvez and Mark King petition died of natural causes and the Elvin Penner petition will be decided on Thursday, but today the election petition filed against P.U.P. Leader and Freetown Area Representative Francis Fonseca was struck out of court. When […]
In a release sent by Francis Fonseca and the PUP Freetown Committee, Fonseca says he welcomes the court’s decision and he is proud to have defended the will, votes, and integrity of the good people of the Freetown Division. But with all the evidence, audio tapes, sworn affidavits of several individuals, what happened to Lee […]
The lower courts of the country are always packed with legal matters, but today the Supreme Court had more than its fair share. As many as sixteen bail applications were presented, but there was one more that Justice Dennis Hanomansingh refused to hear. In fact, the judge chastised attorney Leo Bradley Junior for what he […]
But back to the bail applications that were actually heard by Justice Dennis Hanomansingh in the Supreme Court today. At least ten were successful, three will continue next week and the other applicants had their charges withdrawn. One of the major issues was the bail application for Michael Herrera, his mother Nurse Judith Rocke and […]
The Opposition party lost the March seventh elections by just over sixty votes. It immediately launched four election petitions in constituencies where the margins were razor thin. One was brought to the Courts on April tenth by Martin Galvez against Lake I Area Representative, Mark King. This morning, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin crushed that petition […]
Denys Barrow, attorney for King, says that it is quite the contrary. He explains that there would only be grounds for disqualification if King’s contract was directly linked to the public service. Barrow contends that there is no other law in Belize that disqualifies a public officer from being elected to office. Denys Barrow, […]
Mark King who has kept mum throughout the court proceedings gave a statement to the media today following the Chief Justice’s decision. With the contract in question already exhibited in court, King did not deny that Brint’s Security provides services to the Government. Mark King, Lake I Area Rep. “In regards to the entire […]
Former Queen of the Bay Samantha Carlos, who was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery following the April 2011 holdup of the Heritage Bank in Orange Walk Town, is home free. At the end of a preliminary inquiry, the charge against her was withdrawn due to insufficient evidence. During the P.I., attorney Dickie Bradley submitted […]
The trial of four fishermen who are accused of a double murder in San Pedro began on Wednesday in the Supreme Court. Brionne Swift, Victor Garnett also known as Prince, along with cousins, Frank Edwards Junior and Gabriel Salazar appeared before Justice Herbert Lord. They are jointly charged for the January twenty-ninth, 2009, double murder […]
Forty-one year old Belize City cab driver Willward Pinto is tonight refuting an allegation made by his ex-girlfriend in court on Wednesday that he attempted to kidnap her earlier this week. According to Pinto, he was taking his former common law, Rhea Pennill, to work on Monday afternoon when they became embroiled in a dispute […]
Oceana filed an application on May fourth for leave to apply for judicial review of the disqualification of eight thousand and forty-seven signatures from the petition for a referendum on offshore oil drilling. That application will be heard on June twentieth, but there’s another challenge before the Supreme Court and it involves production sharing agreements […]
As for the application for COLA and the Coalition to become interested parties in the case, Crown Counsel Herbert Panton, holding over for Crown Counsel Nigel Hawke on behalf of the ministry, indicated to Justice Oswell Legall that they strongly object to the applications. Panton requested additional time to review the case and has until […]
A preliminary inquiry concluded this morning, in the case against Ervin Reneau, who was committed to stand trial on numerous charges, including two counts of Murder. The charges are in connection with an incident that occurred on November thirtieth, 2010 in which David Longsworth and Edgar Ayala, were fatally shot during a robbery at the […]
It appears that a relationship gone sour has landed a Belize City taxi-man before the Court on two criminal charges. Rhea Pennill reported to police that her ex-boyfriend, forty-one year old Willward Pinto, attempted to kidnap her around three-thirty Monday evening. Today, Pinto was charged with Aggravated Assault and Wounding upon Pennill. Pinto appeared before […]
