And a correction to a story we ran last night… The names of the four defendants in last year’s three thousand pound cocaine bust, the biggest drug trafficking case in Belizean history, were inaccurately reported. The correct names are Jorge Moreno, Oscar Aguirre, Victor Carrasco and Zulema Molina. All are Mexican nationals. Their trial resumes […]
Three Belizeans originally among those arrested in Belize’s biggest drug bust, are now free. Liston McCord and his wife Jenny, along with Linda Alamilla, had been charged with drug trafficking after police found three sacks of cocaine in a van registered to Jenny. According to police, the drugs were part of a larger haul of […]
This morning, the Chalillo hydro-project was once again the centre of legal attention as lawyers representing BACONGO are now saying that government made questionable decisions when it approved the project. Before Justice Christopher Blackman in the Supreme Court, attorney Lois Young Barrow argued that the Public Utilities Commission violated several parts of the electricity act […]
Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord on Monday ruled that Belizean businessman Kevin Morris should be extradited to the United States to answer charges of conspiracy to traffic cocaine. Morris, who only recently was granted bail, had been imprisoned for fourteen months while the extradition proceedings played out in court. Today, News 5 spoke with Morris who […]
The wheels of justice turn slowly in Belize, due in part, to the backlog of cases before any one of the country’s courts. But the case we’re going to tell you about tonight is unprecedented because it spans ten years, involves three deaths and today, is finally over. Way back in 1991, a fire on […]
The Commission of Inquiry charged to investigate the shooting deaths of three Guatemalans took a break this afternoon, but not before a key witness gave testimony that directly contradicted a statement made by another witness last week. The lone police officer who made up the nine-member patrol listened carefully as Commission Chairman Herbert Lord read […]
Thirteen witnesses have testified since the Commission of Inquiry investigating the shooting deaths of three Guatemalans began its work on Tuesday. This morning the officer in charge of the eight B.D.F. soldiers sent to San Vicente Village in November of last year took the stand. The statement he gave the police a day after the […]
While the generals try to avoid confrontation along the border, a Commission of Inquiry is trying to unravel a deadly showdown that occurred last year. Two B.D.F. privates and one police superintendent took the stand today to testify before the panel charged to investigate the shooting deaths of three Guatemalans, which occurred in November in […]
His party won a political victory on Wednesday in Benque Viejo, but today in the legal arena Dean Barrow and the UDP took it squarely on the chin. In a decision announced this evening, the Court of Appeal overturned last year’s Supreme Court verdict, which had upheld the UDP’s title to a valuable strip of […]
After three years of taking their case to the court of public opinion, both local and international, environmental activists have won the first round in a court of law. This evening Supreme Court Justice Abdulai Conteh ruled that enough questions were raised by the Belize Alliance of Conservation NGOs over government’s approval of the Chalillo […]
Representing the applicants on the other side of the aisle is none other than Denys Barrow’s own brother and Leader of the Opposition: Dean. Dean joined the case late in the game, teaming up with attorney Marilyn Williams. But Barrow’s tardiness did not affect his performance. Janelle Chanona “Having been granted leave for judicial review, […]
After weeks of anticipation, the verdict deciding the judicial fate of former justice George Meerabux is in…And his dismissal stands. In front of a packed courtroom, Justice Christopher Blackman denied four of Meerabux’s five points of complaint against the Belize Advisory Council and ruled that while a fifth was technically valid it could not form […]
Blackman then went on to dismiss the two claims by Meerabux that he was neither notified of the council’s decision or the charges against him. The judge found that based on correspondence between the parties, Mr. Meerabux had been fully aware of the details of the case against him and had ample time to respond. […]
It may have been a coincidence, but on the morning after the year’s biggest blackout, environmental activists were in court trying one more time to throw a legal spanner in the turbines of the proposed Chalillo Dam. Four applicants: BACONGO, The Belize Eco-Tourism Association, Sharon Matola and Eligorio Sho, are applying to the Supreme Court […]
Court watchers won’t have to wait until Thursday for courtroom drama, as on Wednesday morning Justice Christopher Blackman will issue his long awaited decision in the constitutional application of former Supreme Court judge George Meerabux. Meerabux, removed from office on the advice of the Belize Advisory Council for corrupt behaviour, maintains that the council acted […]
A public that just yesterday rose up in frustration at the growing menace of crime, will have little to cheer about today, as the man charged with the cold-blooded murder of millionaire heiress Therese Blake, has been found not guilty. That verdict, in the trial of Ernel Welcome, was reached without any deliberation by the […]
A record four witnesses testified this morning for the prosecution in the murder trial of Ornel Welcome. They are police forensic scientist Jenoveva Marin, Assistant Superintendent Mario Vernon, businesswoman Adelma Broaster and police armourer Albert Ciego. All four laid the groundwork for the prosecution to prove its case against the man accused of killing Therese […]
In judicial news, one of the criminal session’s biggest cases entered its second week–and News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams was walking her usual beat. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting The murder trial of Ornel Welcome continued this morning in Supreme Court number three, with trial judge John Gonzales making a ruling that he’s tendering the twelve photos that […]
The murder trial of Ornel Welcome Jr. continued today in the Supreme Court before trial Judge John Gonzales. Gonzalez asked the jury to leave the courtroom so a submission can be made by defence counsel, Simeon Sampson. The prosecution counter-argued Sampson’s application and pointed out why the submission should not be upheld. The judge adjourned […]
In other court news, this afternoon, a thirty-three year old man was convicted of the carnal knowledge of an eight-year-old boy. Lee Henkis is spending his first night in jail after he was sentenced to seven years behind bars. A nine-member jury found Henkis guilty of unnatural crime of an eight-year-old boy. The incident took […]
One murder case, in which a suspect was charged long ago, is currently being heard in the Supreme Court. Ann-Marie has an update. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting The trial of Ornel Welcome continued today with prosecution witness Michelle Matthews being cross-examined by defence attorney Simeon Sampson. In his cross-examination, Sampson merely wanted her to reiterate to […]
It was the most spectacular crime story of the year 2000…and today a suspect finally went on trial. Ann-Marie Williams reports from the Supreme Court. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting The highly publicised case in which millionaire heiress Therese Blake Ayuso was allegedly shot to death by Ornel Welcome, opened this morning in Supreme Court number three […]
A verdict is in, in the trial of four young men charged with rape and other crimes of violence. Ann-Marie is just back from the Supreme Court with a report. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting After deliberating for four hours, a jury of seven men and two women returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty of attempted […]
Today, trial judge John Gonzales ruled that the case of four teenagers accused of rape, attempted murder, maim and robbery do have a case to answer. Yesterday both defence counsels and the prosecution put forward arguments for and against a “no case submission”. However, Gonzales told the nine-member jury that after listening and examining the […]
July thirtieth, like many dates prior to the fall of the World Trade Center and onslaught of Hurricane Iris, seems like years ago. But the events that unfolded that day at the Tower Hill Bridge are nonetheless still reverberating, as the Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate the incident reconvened today in Belize City. Ann-Marie, […]
