Two men wanted by U.S. authorities for alleged drug trafficking offences six years ago will be given an extradition hearing despite some confusion about the identity of one of the men. Today Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord told attorneys for Andrew “Papa” Brown and Floyd Brown that he will proceed with a full extradition hearing and […]
A police officer convicted of manslaughter by negligence has been ordered to pay a fine of four thousand dollars. Sherwood Wade could have received five years in prison for the death of Darnell McDonald, but Supreme Court Justice Michelle Arana, after listening to testimony from three character witnesses, imposed the lesser penalty. “No useful purpose […]
In a verdict delivered late this evening, fifty year old Calbert Smith, charged with the murder of his brother Kenrick, has been found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. The twelve-person jury deliberated for four hours before reaching a verdict. The killing occurred in October 2001 at the family’s home in Belize City. Smith […]
Today in Magistrate’s Court Andrew “Papa” Brown came one step closer to a stateside jail cell as Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord ruled that the request for extradition by the U.S. government, supported by Belizean authorities, has now been properly placed before him. Brown will reappear on Thursday when it is expected that he will seek […]
His name has long been associated with Belize’s criminal underworld, and tonight, thanks to the long reach of U.S. law enforcement, the future freedom of Andrew “Papa” Brown is very much in doubt. This afternoon Andrew and his brother Floyd appeared before Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord following the presentation of diplomatic notes for their extradition […]
In his first trial there was a hung jury, but today a jury of nine unanimously found Police Constable Sherwood Wade guilty of manslaughter by negligence in the 2003 death of Darnell McDonald. The jury determined he was not guilty of manslaughter, a more serious charge. There was only one witness in the case, Darnell’s […]
An American who says he has “fallen in love” with Belize and is refusing to leave was denied bail again today and sent back to Hattieville prison. Steven Griffith, who has been living in Belize illegally since 1996, was picked up by immigration officials in March and was to be deported back to the United […]
It was big news two years ago: the alleged gang rape of a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl in the St. Martin’s area of Belize City. Today, the six men accused of that crime are free as the prosecution admitted that the testimony of its witnesses and signed statements were not consistent. Deon Ferguson, Joseph Myers, Joseph Logan, […]
He called a gal sexy and when she failed to appreciate his advances, he punched her in the face. Now Luis Zetina will have two years in prison to think about disrespecting and assaulting women. The twenty-nine year old resident of Reggae Street in Belize City was this morning convicted of wounding and sentenced in […]
For the past two months, most of us were convinced that the fifty thousand U.S. dollar a day meter set by a Miami Federal judge had stopped ticking…but in a ruling this week, Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages dropped a bombshell on Belize’s international attorneys. On Wednesday, in a judgment entitled “Order denying…defendant’s motion to recognize purge”, […]
We first got to know Steven Griffith back in November of last year when the fifty-two year old resident of Unitedville participated in that village’s unique celebration of Garifuna Settlement Day. Unfortunately for the transplanted U.S. citizen, life in the months following that party has been less enjoyable. Griffith has languished in Hattieville prison since […]
It was the untying of only one small knot out of the many binding the Government of Belize. But, for the G.O.B., even the slightest loosening of the tangled mess it created in the telecommunications industry must have felt sweet. The big news this morning was that Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh has lifted an injunction […]
The trial of police officer Sherwood Wade got underway today in the Supreme Court…and the prosecution is already having a rough time. Wade, it will be recalled, is charged with manslaughter and manslaughter by negligence in the death of Darnell McDonald. On the night of June fourteenth, 2003, McDonald was killed by a bullet to […]
An accused rapist on trial in the Supreme Court this afternoon walked out a free man. According to court reports, twenty-two year old Kareem Witty was arrested and charged with the crime following a report to the police by his ex-girlfriend that on the night of October tenth 2003 he had taken her out dancing […]
It’s one of a homeowner’s lingering fears: to be robbed by an employee you trust enough to let into your house. That’s the scenario experienced by one Belize City family as a woman hired as a domestic worker systemically stole several pieces of jewellery valued at over five thousand dollars. According to the victims, Barbara […]
Preliminary arguments in the ongoing legal battle involving Belize Telecommunications Limited were heard today by Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh. The claim of Gilbert Smith, representing the B.T.L. Workers Trust versus B.T.L. and the Government of Belize began this morning with attorneys Lois Young-Barrow appearing for Ecom, Michael Peyrefitte for the workers, Michael Young for B.T.L., […]
The judicial resolution of the passport scandal will just have to wait a little longer, as one of the two defendants in the high profile case once again failed to appear. Hassan El-Sayed, who is jointly charged with Gabby Affif on ten counts relating to the forgery of passport applications, did not appear for the […]
He has been sitting on death row for over a decade, and waiting for a possible commuted sentence since 2002. But today, Adolph Harris, sentenced to hang for the death of Lavern Orosco in 1993, was still unable to get a change in his sentence due to the long lapse in time since the original […]
A career criminal with more than forty convictions to his discredit, tried to get his latest prison sentence reduced, but finds himself facing life behind bars. Kenrick Domingo, otherwise known as Buck Dougal, was sentenced to ten years for the rape of a woman near M.J.’s Night Club on West Canal in September of 2003. […]
Another man, accused of committing incest with his two daughters, age twelve and thirteen, has been granted bail but ordered by the court to immediately vacate the family residence. The thirty-six year old Belize City resident, whose name we will for the present withhold, was remanded to prison on the incest charge on June sixth. […]
He was acquitted of murder almost a year ago, but twenty-two year old Avondale Trumbach will once again face a jury of his peers and the possibility of the hangman’s noose. The reason is a ruling by the Court of Appeal that the Supreme Court’s rejection of a written statement from a witness who died […]
In other court news, forty-five year old David Dakers, charged with murder, has been found incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness. On Monday, the jury of twelve men and women heard the testimony of psychiatrist Dr. Roy Lopez who described Dakers as suffering from bipolar disorder. The defendant, he said, is prone to […]
A man convicted of stealing a bag of chips has been sentenced to five years in prison. Thirty-seven year old John Hernandez of Tigris Street pleaded guilty to charges of burglary which arose from an incident on the night of June fifth when he stuck his hand inside a louvered window at Grace Primary School […]
He stands to lose two hundred thousand dollars in bail money, but that prospect did not stop Hassan El-Sayed from missing his date as a defendant in the Supreme Court. El-Sayed, charged with one hundred and seventeen counts of various forgery-related crimes connected to the passport scandal, failed to show this morning before Justice Adolph […]
The sale of government’s shares in B.T.L. to Michael Ashcroft may have to wait a few more days as today the Chief Justice granted an injunction applied for by the B.T.L. Workers Trust which prevents the sale of any shares until the court decides the merits of the substantive case, which begins on Tuesday. That […]
