2 of 6 Cocaine Fishermen Granted High Court Bail

Two of the six fishermen from the north were granted bail this morning by Justice Nigel Pilgrim in the High Court. Lerman Norman Leslie, thirty-one, from Chunox Village, and Ronyer Alexander Cruz, twenty-four, from Sarteneja Village, were each granted bail of nine thousand dollars, with two sureties of four thousand, five hundred dollars each. Prosecutor Dercene Staine did not object to their bail. As part of their bail conditions, they must report to the Corozal Police Station every Monday and Friday starting March thirty-first, 2025, until the case is resolved. They must attend all court hearings, avoid contacting prosecution witnesses, stay within the jurisdiction unless permitted by a High Court judge, and not get arrested or charged with any new offenses while out on bail, or their bail could be revoked. The fishermen, along with Pastor Mark Anthony Humes and four others—Freddy Estuardo Chavez, Angel Aragon, and Marvin Teul—were initially charged with possession of one thousand, one hundred and thirty-seven grams of cocaine. At their arraignment on March nineteenth, 2025, they were all denied bail. However, on March twenty-first, 2025, the charge against Pastor Humes was dropped, leaving only the six fishermen facing charges. The bail application for the remaining four fishermen will be heard on March thirty-first, 2025, in the High Court. The arrests stemmed from a bust on March eighteenth, 2025, in Orange Walk Town. Police intercepted a gold Dodge Caravan driven by Pastor Humes, who was reportedly hired to transport the fishermen from Belize City to Orange Walk. The six fishermen are due back in the Orange Walk Magistrate’s Court on May twenty-second, 2025.