The arguments may have ceased in the Meerabux case, but downstairs in the courtroom of John Gonzales, a major criminal trial was still going on. News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams has been following the case since it started. Ann-Marie Williams The trial of James Pelayo, Melvin Guzman, Ricardo Alamilla and Amir Sutherland charged with the attempted […]
Shockwaves rippled from the Supreme Court today as a series of events threatened to further complicate and even cripple the already controversial constitutional case of George Meerabux. It began on Monday when Attorney General Godfrey Smith, took the podium at the ceremonial opening of the Supreme Court and made several comments about the Meerabux case, […]
But the fireworks were just getting started. Blackman made it clear that the remarks made by the Attorney General were more than just personally offensive. The justice proceeded to state that he was considering recusing himself from the case and wanted to hear from counsel. Not wasting a minute, Solicitor General Elson Kaseke, appearing for […]
Ava Lovell The proceedings in and around the Meerabux case have dominated the news for the last week; today they reached a climax. And while the press is admonished to stick to the facts, sometimes the so-called facts are shaded with so much nuance that the situation calls for some additional explanation. Joining me in […]
The final prosecution testimony in the James Pelayo rape case came this morning from subpoenaed witness Guadaloupe Cowo, mother of one of the minors involved in the May 2000 incident and C.I.B. detective Millard Tun. News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams was at the Supreme Court. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting Cowo told the court via an interpreter this […]
While the annual Supreme Court opening is usually long on form and short on substance, one issue hovered over today’s gathering like a fog bank over Victoria Peak. That is the Supreme Court case of Meerabux versus the Attorney General, a constitutional motion in which deposed former Supreme Court Justice George Meerabux is seeking to […]
The trial of former justice George Meerabux continued in the Supreme Court in Belize City today. The main point of contention in the courtroom this afternoon proved to be whether or not the best interest of justice was served when the Belize Advisory Council decided to hold the tribunal hearings en camera or behind closed […]
Meanwhile in a downstairs courtroom of the Supreme Court, the rape, maim and attempted murder of a thirty-eight year old woman continued before Justice John Gonzalez. As News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams describes, today the defence attorneys did their best to punch holes in the prosecution’s case. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting The prosecution called its first witness […]
Four witnesses for the prosecution testified today in the case of James Pelayo, Amir Sutherland, Melvin Guzman and Ricardo Alamilla, accused of the rape, maim and attempted murder of a thirty-eight year old Ladyville woman on May seventh, 2000. News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams was once again in the courtroom. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting Cuban doctor Rodriguez […]
The case of Meerabux versus the Attorney General opened today in the courtroom of Supreme Justice Christopher Blackman. Having been removed from the bench by the Governor General on the advice of the Belize Advisory Council, former Justice George Meerabux is seeking redress in the Supreme Court for what he claims are the infringement of […]
The constitutional redress of former Justice Meerabux is not the only high profile case being heard in the Supreme Court. News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams reports. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting The trial of four teenagers: James Pelayo, Melvin Guzman, Ricardo Alamilla and Amir Sutherland accused of the attempted murder, rape and maim of a Ladyville woman, entered […]
The trial of four teenagers: James Pelayo, Melvin Guzman, Ricardo Alamilla and Amir Sutherland, accused of the attempted murder, rape and maim of a thirty-six year old woman, began today. In May 2000, the four men allegedly offered the victim, a Ladyville resident, a ride to her home from the Crooked Tree Village cut-off where […]
The murder of Therese Blake Ayuso in October of 2000 was one of the most high profile crimes of the year. But this morning after two witnesses testified at the start of the trial of Ernel Wellcome, Supreme Court Justice Christopher Blackman declared a mistrial and directed that the matter be set aside until the […]
He might have been relieved of duty, but former judge George Meerabux is determined to have his day in court. This morning, an action challenging the removal of Meerabux from the Supreme Court was adjourned by Justice Christopher Blackman. The action, filed by senior counsel Bernard Q. Pitts and attorney Kirk Anderson, alleges that there […]
As we speak, the jury in the trial of Winston Dennison is still in deliberation. Forty year old Dennison, also known as “Mannan”, is being re-tried for the murder of twenty year old Darren Sutherland in the Supreme Court. Dennison was found guilty by a jury of his peers and given the death sentence in […]
A teenager found guilty of murder on Monday will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Eighteen year old Jason Jones was sentenced to life in prison by Judge Wilfred Elrington in the Supreme Court this morning. Jones was convicted of the murder of fifty year old Lincoln Weston, who died in April 2000 […]
It was a crime that seemed too senseless to be true: a man murdered because he told young boys to stop stealing mangoes. Today, the teenage gunman, later identified as eighteen year old David Jones, was found guilty of the murder of Lincoln Weston. The jury of four women and eight men deliberated for a […]
Meanwhile across the bridge at the Supreme Court, another judge made sure a twenty-five year old man paid his debt to society for raping a young woman last year. This afternoon, Justice Christopher Blackman handed down a verdict and a condemnation for Edrick Cruz of San Ignacio. News Five was there. Ann-Marie Williams A jury […]
The Supreme Court building in Belize City was once again the venue for an inquiry into events that took place some fifty miles to the north, over a month ago. As has become her habit, News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams was on hand for the Q and A. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting The Commission of Inquiry charged […]
Justice Blackman also found it necessary to clear the air today about a misunderstanding in the print and broadcast media that the riot act read by police at Tower Hill was void and that rioters could not be charged for their wrongdoing. He said that title fourteen of the Criminal Code of Belize specifies a […]
The Commission of Inquiry into the July thirtieth riots at Tower Hill Bridge reconvened in Orange Walk Town this morning. News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams, herself an eyewitness to the action, is just back to our studios with the following report. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting The Commission of Inquiry is back where it all started last week […]
The fourth day of the Commission of Inquiry into the Tower Hill riot was anything but dull. Transport Commissioner Glen Arthurs took the stand along with a ballistics expert, Albert Ciego. As Ann-Marie Williams reports, not only did the commission find concerns with how Arthurs handled the situation, but the expert testimony places further doubt […]
When a commission of inquiry was established to investigate the incident at Tower Hill, there were a few of us who believed the truth would be revealed. But as News 5 found out today, that might not happen. Perhaps the most important man took the stand this afternoon, Captain John Borland, the soldier who fired […]
Proceedings of the commission charged to investigate the incident at the Tower Hill Bridge took a surprising twist today. Chairman of the commission, Justice Christopher Blackman, told those present that since the reading of the riot act did not start with “In the Queen’s name” or end in “God save the Queen”, it was thereby […]
The killing of a Guatemalan civilian by the B.D.F. near the border in June of 1999 was a controversial case from the start, but things got stickier for the Amandala when the newspaper’s account of the incident landed it in court for libel. Today Supreme Court Justice Samuel Awich ruled that the story, which identified […]
