On Valentine’s Day, a couple living on Victoria Street was socializing when it is alleged the woman pushed her common-law husband down the stairs. He sustained a head injury when he landed on a cement slab and was hospitalized. But days ago, Eric Kent Moses succumbed while at the K.H.M.H. Adult Intensive Care Unit. Genevia […]
A jury of seven women and five men stepped into the deliberating room at just after noon today to decide the fate of three men from Cayo, who are accused jointly with the murder of eighty-two-year-old James Neal Young, who was killed in a most gruesome manner. Four and a half hours later, the verdict […]
A few weeks ago, former C.E.O. of the Ministry of Immigration, Candelaria Saldivar-Morter, mused that many unusual things happened in the Immigration Department and that there was corruption from the top to the bottom. Another example came to light in Wednesday’s public hearings where former Finance Officer Teresita Castellanos told of the unusual way in […]
Even though Prime Minister Dean Barrow continues to deny that the cut corners in the Immigration Department compromised the nationality of those registered in the run-up to the 2012 general elections, further testimony revealed that even with the greater number of applications coming in, the number of staff doing checks did not increase significantly as […]
We suspect that it hardly matters in the greater scheme of things, but both sides of the political divide have been accused of misusing the Immigration Department to their advantage, especially during election time. In 2012, the U.D.P. government swore in over two thousand new Belizeans in the run-up to general elections, which they won […]
It appears the Senate Special Select Committee is convinced that Eric Chang and Patrick Tillett can contribute to their investigation into the circumstances of eight missing visa foils that they sought to have authenticated at the Immigration Department in Belmopan, which turned out to be stolen. Chang, the former Deputy Mayor, has been implicated as […]
David Nanes Schnitzer – his name is back in the news in a big way after his recent re-capture by international authorities and return to Mexico to face fraud charges. He was in Belize and caught with various fraudulent documents, including Belizean nationality and a passport which have since been revoked, according to Minister of Immigration […]
There are provisions in both the Senate and House of Representatives Standing Orders which effectively prohibit premature publication of evidence by those involved in Select Committees. As we have seen, these prohibit discussion of the ongoing public hearings of the Senate Select Special Committee in any public forum even though the hearings are being broadcast […]
Former finance officer in the Department, Teresita Castellanos last week dared to say what no else would, at least publicly. At her second appearance before the Senate Special Select Committee last Wednesday, she disclosed that a culture of corruption and hustling existed at the Department. In this regime, Immigration officers, abetted by their superiors, acted […]
Returning for his second time in the witness chair this afternoon was former officer in charge of the Nationality Section, Gordon Wade. In his previous appearance, he named several Ministers of Government as being frequent visitors to the department for various items from visa to nationality recommendations. But today he spoke of a “Minister’s List,” […]
American fugitive Daniel Rae Morris apparently wound up with a Belizean’s expired passport, although he didn’t get very far with it, as he was detained at the northern border and subsequently expelled from Belize. Camalote resident Floyd Emmanuel Neal told wildly different stories about his passport to police and immigration, but he wound up getting […]
As final vettor, Gordon Wade’s word was almost law when it came to recommendations for nationality. He gave the final word before the Director gave her stamp of approval. But, as in the case of Tizing Huang, a person claiming to have permanent residence, despite having only just arrived in Belize, can slip through the […]
A woman is in police custody tonight pending charges, following the death of her common-law-husband forty-six-year-old Eric Kent Moses. It is expected that Genevia Christine Estrada will be charged with manslaughter after being apprehended today. Police investigation into the incident led them to Victoria Street where witnesses said that the couple was drinking at their […]
Three weeks ago, the Supreme Court-ordered mediation between the Belize National Teachers Union and the Ministry of Education concluded. Today, the parties returned to Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin’s chambers with an update and we can tell you that it is a major victory for the B.N.T.U. In the aftermath of an eleven-day strike in October, […]
Palacio went on to note that they had the precedents on their side, as well as the goodwill of their membership and the community, and that was more than enough to finally sway the ministry. He credits the success of their fight to staying the course, even as forces gathered against them demanding that they […]
The union says the financial hit to teachers would have been in the millions of dollars if the stand-off continued and the ministry followed through on planned salary deductions. There were times in the middle of the strike and afterward when it looked like the relationship between the B.N.T.U. and the Ministry would be sundered […]
This morning, accused murderer William ‘Danny’ Mason and his alleged partners in crime appeared in magistrates court where a preliminary inquiry was held. Their appearance was mostly drama-free. With the defence electing not to challenge the case brought by the prosecution, it was simply a matter of turning over the requisite evidence and the Chief […]
The murder count went up by four over the weekend; the first occurred just after midnight on Saturday. Seventeen-year-old Eaton Lamb was stabbed and killed by his cousin, twenty-four-year-old Tishaun Hamilton. Hamilton was caught by officers on patrol in the Antelope Street Extension area of Belize City because Lamb ran to their location for assistance, […]
Freedom is closer than ever for thirty-seven-year old Danny Ku, despite a twenty-three-year prison sentence handed down by Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin this afternoon. That’s because he has been in prison for the past ten years. Ku was on remand on charges of murder in connection with the death of his wife, nurse Anna Marie […]
In late August 2015, Alberto Coleman—then fifty-five years old—was charged for the July third murder of his twenty-nine year old ex-girlfriend, Juana Cowo. The decomposed body of the young woman was discovered in the bedroom of her apartment at the corner of King and Jose Maria Nunez Streets in Punta Gorda. She had been brutally […]
According to Bradley, the case fell apart because the murder was poorly investigated. And from evidence before the court, while he was smitten by Juana, there was no proof that Coleman had killed her. Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney for Alberto Coleman “As one example of many that emerged, there was—when police broke down the […]
Also before Judge Denis Hanomansingh in the Punta Gorda Courts, two cops are on trial for the shooting death of eighteen year old inmate Rasheed Elijio. He along with Brian Garcia had escaped from the police station in that jurisdiction. Elijio was shot and killed back in May of 2013; he was reportedly shot to […]
A pair of Bulgarian nationals, twenty-eight year old Jeorji Petrov, and twenty-five year old Halid Yuksel Aptula, convicted of theft from a Belize Bank ATM, was back before the courts today on an application for forfeiture of the money. Twenty-one thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars were found inside their apartment in the city believed […]
A cane farmer from San Estevan Village up north, who moved to the City, is behind bars tonight for burglary. Thirty-six-year-old Rafael Yam claims he is suffering from stomach cancer. But notwithstanding, he is serving his first night of a five-year sentence handed down to him this morning by Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser. According to […]
A murder conviction was secured today in the courts. After languishing inside a prison cell at the remand section for more than one year after his trial concluded, Supreme Court judge, Troadio Gonzalez made a ruling in the murder case against thirty-year-old Byron James. James was accused for the May ninth 2012 murder of Frank […]
