Aaron Flowers Allegedly Assaults Food Vendor

Twenty-nine-year-old businessman Aaron Flowers has been charged for wounding a food vendor. The food vendor, thirty-year-old Salvadoran Katherine Saravia told police that Flowers visited her food stand at the corner of Raccoon Street Extension and began to harass her customers. She reported that when she told him to leave, he insulted her and threw bottles of ketchup, pepper and mustard at her causing injuries to her ear. Flowers, in his defense, is claiming that he assaulted no one and that he is the victim. Flowers appeared unrepresented in the Belize City Magistrates Court this morning where he was read two criminal offenses, aggravated assault and wounding. Flowers, who pleaded not guilty to both charges, told the court that he went to the police station to make a report against Saravia after she allegedly chased him with a knife. Flowers told the court that when he arrived at the Police Station and the officers there saw that it was him, they did not want to take his report. Flowers claims that he was injured during the incident and never got an opportunity to get any medical attention because the officer in charge at the station is a friend to the officer who was convicted of wounding him earlier this year.  The sitting Magistrate explained to Flowers that the offense for which he is accused is a very serious matter and advised him to seek assistance from an attorney to make a report. Flowers told the court that he will try to obtain video footage of the incident to prove his innocence. In her statement to police, Saravia says that Flowers was harassing one of her male customers and behaving inappropriately when she told him to leave.  She alleged that Flowers told her that he is from the streets and threatened to take her life and her husband’s. Saravia also told police that she picked up a knife in fear and that her husband stopped a passing police mobile at the same time. There were no objections to bail. The court offered Flowers bail in the sum of fifteen hundred dollars plus one surety of the same amount. He is due back in court on November twenty-second. Flowers spoke briefly after meeting bail.

 

Aaron Flowers, Businessman

“Well you know weh happen, the lady the chase me with a knife and when me run to the police, the police spin the whole case pan me. Right now I gwen report the police dah prosecution branch. That is what I have to say. You ever witness somebody the run to the police for help and when they go the police nuh help the victim, the police help the accused. That dah weh ketch me. I nuh need fih know nothing weh the lady seh. I gwen bout my business. I done give you my side.”