In news from the courts, he shot and killed his friend in March 2008 and today, forty-one year old Yong Sheng Zhang, a Chinese national and businessman, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of Manslaughter before Justice Michelle Arana. He had originally been charged with the Murder of Chi Cheong Chan. Last year on March […]
Also in court, thirty-five year old Herman Lanza has been fined five thousand dollars after pleading guilty to a charge of Grievous Harm. Last Thursday, Lanza, who was being charged for the Attempted Murder of Dean Bennett appeared before Justice Michelle Arana and pleaded guilty to the alternative charge. This morning at his mitigation plea, […]
In more news from the courts, late this evening, thirty year old Adrian Bradley, son of Attorney Dickie Bradley, was slapped with three charges: the Aggravated Assault upon P.C. Mervin Locke, Wounding and Damage to Property. The charge of Damage of Property relates to Locke’s Anti-Drug Unit uniform. Locke was one of three officers who […]
There are two stories from the courts to report tonight. And in the first case, police detained one man over the weekend in connection with the stabbing of Clayburn Pascasio. Twenty-one year old Jovanni Tillett, of the St Martin de Porres area, was taken to court today and charged with the Attempted Murder of Pascasio. […]
In the other case, an adult and a minor appeared in court this morning for the robbery of a Chinese businessman in Belize City. Proprietor of Olympic Restaurant, Chong Wa Tan, told police that on Saturday he was inside his store when four men entered, held him up at gunpoint and attacked him. The men […]
In mid July, he was released from charges for money laundering and unlicensed firearms. But today he was brought back to court and the most recent charge against thirty-three year old Ernest Raymond Junior is for Concealing Documents. The charge against Raymond is linked to an ongoing investigation of money laundering. Police allege that on […]
Also in court, a woman who went to visit with relatives on Caye Caulker finds herself in all kinds of trouble tonight. Thirty-three year old Michelle Sedacey was allegedly busted in the village with crack cocaine inside a bag. Police say they thought Sedacey was acting suspiciously and that’s why they detained the Belize City […]
A wanted U.S. national was nabbed today between mile two and three on the Northern Highway by Customs and Immigration personnel and finds himself behind bars tonight. A bench warrant had been issued in San Pedro earlier this year for forty-seven year old Rod Cooper. He was found traveling northwards in an SUV this morning […]
Following a police search of two homes, a chef has been charged with Drug Trafficking and Possession of Controlled Drugs. Ten pounds of weed were reportedly found in a red sack stashed inside the chef’s house while at another house police found a lesser amount, two point five grams. This morning police escorted forty-eight year […]
Also in court, a taxi driver from Hattieville who got too friendly with a tourist who employed his services had to answer to a charge of Aggravated Assault of an Indecent Nature. The tourist, a forty-four year old woman, reported that after she got off a cruise ship, she caught a taxi driven by thirty-one […]
A young woman who was accused of killing her brother over a pack of Ramen noodles and a ten dollar bill will have a long time to think about her deed. Today twenty-one year old Tiffara Smith was sentenced to life imprisonment for fatally stabbing her brother, Dale Lino, on April twenty-fourth, 2007. The incident […]
At least three cases of Attempted Murder were dealt with in the Supreme Court today. In the first, a sentence of twelve years was handed down to twenty-four year old Marlon Alfred Taylor, who on July sixteen was found guilty of the crime of Attempted Murder. Justice Michelle Arana presided over the case which goes […]
While Justice Michelle Arana handed down a twelve year sentence to Marlon Taylor for Attempted Murder, two men were freed of similar charges this morning. The Director of Public Prosecutions entered a nolle prosequi in the case against Wababa Noralez and Phillip Wallace—both twenty-one years old—who allegedly shot Andrew West on August fourteenth 2007. That’s […]
And in a third hearing, a jury of nine acquitted twenty-nine year old Dorita Wallace of an Attempted Murder charge after less than three hours of deliberation. The decision was unanimous and Wallace, who had no legal representation, walked home a free woman. She was greeted by her common-law husband who waited for her across […]
It was busy in the courts today. And a man charged with Manslaughter by Negligence is out on bail of five thousand dollars. The traffic accident for which forty year old Mark Conorquie is charged occurred between miles nineteen and twenty on the Northern Highway. It claimed the life of fifty-six year old Maurice Daniel […]
In another case before Magistrate Aretha Ford, twenty-eight year old Devon Jones pleaded guilty to a charge of Common Assault. But it was not the average charge since Jones could not help but giggle as he explained to the Magistrate that he threw a piece of a flower at his girlfriend, Tracey Terry, because she […]
Also in court, Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh is expected to intervene and make a decision as to whether a Caye Caulker resident will spend two years behind bars or be served with a non-custodial sentence of ten thousand dollars. This is because nineteen year old Fernando Magana was convicted twice in two days for the […]
After days of intense investigations into the broad daylight murder of twenty one year old entrepreneur, Clifton Michael, police have one man in custody for that homicide. Today twenty-five year old city resident, Knox Cumberbatch, a resident of Dolphin Street was charged with Michael’s murder. And police believe it was the result of gang rivalry. […]
They say all’s fair in love and war, but one Special Constable may not agree with that after his ex-girlfriend had him locked up following a heated dispute early this morning. Twenty-four year old Jose Haylock is charged with Wounding and Uttering Threatening Words upon Longene Flores. Flores claims that at around four this morning […]
A resident of the Junesville area in Saint Martin’s is spending his first night at the Hattieville prison after he was denied bail for Attempted Murder. Forty-four year old Herman Egbert Card is accused of trying to kill twenty-one year old Derwin Ferguson. He was remanded to prison until August twenty fifth. The incident in […]
Twenty-three year old Adrian Espinosa and eighteen year old Elroy Flowers were murdered execution style on January twenty-second of 2007 at an apartment on Pointsetta Street in the St. Martin’s de Porres Area. And on Thursday, Belize City resident Jamil Betancourt, who was accused for the double murder, was acquitted of the charges in the […]
Justice Minet Hafiz Bertram has reserved judgment in a civil case involving Atlantic Corporation and the Development Finance Corporation. The matter is over a sum of money collected from the sale of five properties which occurred after the Novelo’s Bus Service was placed under receivership. The five properties were originally owned by Batty Bus Service. […]
Also in the Supreme Court, a jury of seven women and two men deliberated for little over four hours before they delivered a verdict of not guilty on a charge of Attempted Murder against Clarence Jones, the estranged husband of Gina Jones. The incident for which Clarence was charged occurred on the night of November […]
A major court case against the government of Belize came to an end today. And it was a win for the government, which won’t need to fork out any payments from its coffers. Supreme Court Justice Oswell Legall dismissed a two point five million dollar claim for breach of contract brought by Bella Vista Development […]
The court has ordered a bench warrant for the arrest of the main witnesses in a double murder trial. Police are on the lookout for Michael Goff, who was served with a subpoena on July fifteenth, and who was expected to testify in the case against Jamil Betancourt. Betancourt is facing two counts of Murder […]
