A ballistics examiner employed with the National Forensic Science Service is still awaiting the result of a second application for bail following his conviction for abetment to perverting the course of justice. Orlando Vera was jailed for two years by Chief Magistrate Ann-Marie Smith following trial in the Magistrate’s Court. He was recorded telling Belmopan […]
But why can’t Vera apply directly to the court as a result of appealing his conviction? The answer lies in a change to the law that in fact limits his options, according to Sylvestre. Direct appeal to the court is only permissible for convictions on charges listed under the Crime Control and Criminal Justice Act, […]
He was wanted by Corozal Police for last Thursday’s chopping murder of Amilcar Omar Morales Gonzalez and the attempted murder of Doniver Ruano, but on Monday, police formally arrested and charged Arthur Joel Tzul, a resident of San Joaquin Village for the murder of Gonzalez in the Corozal District. In the immediate aftermath of the […]
Belize City resident, Everal Gray, was convicted this morning in the Belize City Magistrate for drug trafficking. Gray, who is no stranger to the court, appeared before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser and changed his not guilty plea to one of guilty. He was sentenced to two more years in prison at the Belize Central Prison […]
Orange Walk Police were not available for comment today. Meanwhile, twenty-two-year-old Noe Gonzalez, nineteen year old Angel Cardenas and twenty-eight-year-old Mateo Pott are charged with the murders of Ramon Cervantes Senior and housewife Sonia Abac, who was similarly buried in the same area. As we told you, also accused is Manuel “El Pelon” Castillo. But […]
The lucrative business, though very much unlawful, has seemingly expanded to include church ministers turned drug traffickers as well. On Friday evening, forty-five-year-old Mark Humes, a pastor of Burrell Boom Village, was busted at a checkpoint near the corners of Victoria Street and New Road. He was driving his taxi when he was pulled over […]
Belize City resident, Victor Mason Gibbs, accused of causing the death of a Jehovah witness, Lilian Emily Guy on July thirtieth, 2016 was today committed to stand trial at the October session of the Supreme Court. The horrific traffic accident occurred in the busy area of the Michael Finnegan Market. At the conclusion of the preliminary inquiry today […]
Immigration Officer Ady Pacheco, as we showed you on Wednesday, was extensively questioned about the process of work at the Department. In the time when she handled permanent residence, she took the rare opportunity to question why it was that it was directed that no further security checks be conducted on applicants for that service. […]
Earlier in this newscast, we told you of the U.S.’s disappointment in how Belize is handling the issue of trafficking in persons. It also came up at the Senate in the case of one Muhammad Zaghlool. In 2014, outside the time of the Auditor General’s Report, he was held in Mexico with Belizean nationality by […]
Immigration officer Ady Pacheco was the sole witness this morning. She was thoroughly grilled by the members of the Committee on various cases and scenarios resulting in improper granting of nationality, visas, and permanent residence. One such case is that of Peter Dahlstrom, the Swedish national who married a Belizean and twenty years later sought […]
Pacheco was also questioned about the case of the Harmouch family of San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, who appeared to recruit a powerful ally in area representative Manuel Heredia Junior. In the case of Mohammed Harmouch, he was interviewed for nationality but was not recommended by the Officer in Charge, Gordon Wade. However, Gertrude Armstrong, […]
The Auditor General’s Report details many instances of persons being granted passports illegally. But the Audit Department’s search uncovered thousands of blank passports that were simply reported as missing or possibly stolen. Pacheco indicated that as with many things, the Department did nothing with regard to locating and restoring these important documents, which were re-introduced […]
Gian Espadas, friend and associate of the Castro Brothers, was charged with drug trafficking today. Twenty-two-year-old Espadas, a UB student of Belize City, was arraigned on a single charge of drug trafficking when he appeared in court today before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser. Espadas was represented by attorneys Leeroy Banner and Bryan Neal when he […]
Twenty-five-year-old Kashief Gallego was charged with and arraigned for the murder of thirty-six-year-old Jermaine Franklin. Gallego appeared unrepresented in court today before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser. Due to the nature of the offense, no plea was taken and he was denied bail before being remanded into custody until July eleventh. Around six-thirty on Wednesday evening, […]
Twenty-two-year-old Freddy Amir Blanco pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the September 2011 killing of his lover Nelsi Chuc in August Pine Ridge. Back in 2011, Blanco was arraigned for murder to which he pleaded not guilty, but when he appeared in the Supreme Court today, Blanco pleaded not guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. […]
Immigration Officer Ady Pacheco spent most of Wednesday’s appearance at the Senate Special Select Committee pointing the finger at her bosses in the Immigration Department, as it relates to the various scandals that were investigated by the Audit Department. Pacheco was careful to admit to very little that could land her in further hot water, […]
According to Pacheco, it was not uncommon during her time in the visa section for her officer in charge there, George Reynolds, to receive applications for visas from ministers of government or their respective agents. She says it was, quote, normal practice, for these applications to be handed to her for processing, despite being junior […]
The senate hearings got underway in Belmopan; the sole witness at the Senate Special Select Committee was Immigration Officer Ady Pacheco whose name appears frequently in the Auditor General’s report. The junior officer is named as a key player in the Won Hong Kim affair as, she admitted today, she was directly handed the file […]
Pacheco also fingered her boss, Officer in Charge of the Nationality and Services Section of the Department Gordon Wade, saying he was in regular contact with Ministers, secretaries and drivers to accept files to process for nationality. It was often the case that these files were incomplete, and the Department did not always follow up […]
Even as they celebrate police week, two police officers in San Pedro were taken to court this afternoon on a slew of charges including theft and extortion. Police Corporal Denfield Ramos is facing charges of Theft, Extortion and Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon while Special Constable Orlando Mendez was charged with Theft and Extortion. […]
A Belize City businesswoman was convicted this morning in the court room of Chief Magistrate, Anne Marie Smith for the drug trafficking of fourteen point six grams of crack cocaine and for possession of a small quantity of weed. Michelle Gotoy, a resident of Belize City was busted on December sixth, 2016, at the corner […]
The chilling murder of Emy Guerra in the west still has the Santa Familia community reeling. The sixteen-year-old girl and her boyfriend Eleazer Bacab were in the village when three men they knew came up to them and attacked them with a knife – killing Guerra and critically injuring Bacab. On Monday residents from Santa […]
While Assistant Commissioner of Police Chester Williams is facing strong adverse criticism by the media and the public, Panton maintains that A.C.P. Williams had indicated from the beginning that a decision on whether or not to charge the siblings was the judgment of the arresting officer. Isani Cayetano “Your position seems to support and […]
In May of 2016, Spoonaz Photo Café & Bar was burglarized and the culprit was caught on surveillance camera. Today, after more than a year of incarceration, the accused thirty-nine year old Derrick Garbutt, an unemployed of the Ladyville area, changed his not guilty plea to guilty. Garbutt claimed he was drunk when he committed […]
Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith also dealt with the case of thirty-two -year old Jamaal Jackson who was on remand awaiting sentencing for the offense of kept unlicensed firearm and ammunition. The Chief Magistrate imposed a three-year sentence on both counts and ordered they run concurrently so Jackson will spend only three years instead of […]
