Chester Noralez Not Home Free; Will Be Re-Arrested for Senior Citizen’s Beating

Chester Noralez

He walked free from court on Monday afternoon for the brutal attack on an elderly man, but tonight police are looking for thirty-six-year-old Chester Noralez. He is to be re-arrested and charged for the aggravated burglary and near-fatal assault of ninety-three-year-old Patrick Grant. Grant was the victim of a home invasion at his residence on Fern Lane in south side Belize City on December twenty-ninth, 2015 and police believe that his neighbor, Noralez, was the culprit. But days ago, Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer struck out the matter after she was notified that the case file could not be found. Well Assistant Commissioner of Police Chester Williams says not so fast. After making checks, Williams says the file was sent from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions with directives to the Prosecution Branch of the Police Department.

Chester Williams

ACP Chester Williams, Regional Commander, Eastern Division South

“The charges were indeed dropped yesterday at the Magistrate’s court, but be reminded that he was charged with an indictable offense and therefore we will be arresting charging him again with those offenses. The principle of law is that he had not been place at peril, in the sense that a plea has not been taken because of the nature of the offense and therefore we do have the ability to re-arrest him for the offense. And as it relates to what was reported on the news that the police had lost the case file; there is no truth to that. The case file had gone to the D.P.P. office; the D.P.P. had sent back the file to us with some directives that we must comply with before we go to the preliminary inquiry. So the prosecution branch do have the file. What we are doing now is trying to get a final report from the forensic laboratory and once we get that report, then we will be proceeding to preliminary inquiry where that matter is concerned. So Chester Noralez is not off the hook, as what was reported yesterday.”

Reporter

“So you are planning to re-arrest him as soon as…”

ACP Chester Williams

“Yes, the directive has been given for him to be re-arrested for those matters.”

Duane Moody

“So police are looking for him now?”

ACP Chester Williams

“Yes.”

When the law catches up with Noralez, he will be charged for two counts, namely dangerous harm and burglary.  Of note is that he currently has a case before the court in relation to a recent charge for sexual assault upon a seventeen-year-old student who alleges that Noralez touched her inappropriately on her buttocks.