Osmar Correa will be Extradited to US to Face Manslaughter Trial

Forty-eight-year-old Osmar Correa, a businessman from Belmopan, will be extradited to the United States where he will be tried in a court of law in the state of Texas.  Earlier today, Chief Magistrate Jayani Wegodapola handed down that decision in a sixteen-page document and concluded that, “I am satisfied that the evidence contained is sufficient according to the laws of Belize to justify the committal for trial of the defendant, Osman Eliasar Correa, as if the offense of which he is charged had been committed in the territory of Belize”.  Correa is wanted in Texas on a charge of intoxication manslaughter, following an incident on March twenty-third, 1998 that resulted in the death of two persons, including someone inside an ambulance.  Before leaving the courtroom, Correa was informed that he has fifteen days before the proper proceedings for his extradition are concluded, referring to all the documents that are needed to be prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Correa was represented by attorney Bryan Neal, while the state was represented by the DPP and Senior Crown Counsel Stacy Martinez.