Butcher Fined for Gun Offences  

A butcher is facing the loss of his firearm after he and his common-law wife were caught at home with unlicensed firearms and ammunition. Today, they appeared in court on five gun and firearm-related charges, including two counts of keeping a firearm without a license and three counts of keeping ammunition without a license. The couple, thirty-seven-year-old Aaron Marlon Castillo and twenty-nine-year-old Jacqueline Lizette Orellana, were apprehended on Saturday in the Buttonwood Bay area with two guns and over sixty live rounds of ammunition, all unlicensed.  In the Magistrates’ Court, with their attorney Ronell Gonzalez present, the charges were read. Castillo, a father of six, pleaded guilty to all five charges, while Orellana pleaded not guilty. Castillo expressed regret for not renewing his license in July, explaining that he initially applied for it nine years ago due to previous attacks in his home and his status as a businessman. His attorney requested a fine instead of a prison sentence. The magistrate, considering Castillo’s acceptance of responsibility and the time saved, imposed two fines of five thousand dollars each plus court costs, payable by February twenty-eighth, 2025, or face three years in prison. Additionally, Castillo must pay four thousand, eighty-seven dollars for the live rounds of ammunition by the same date. Following Castillo’s guilty plea, the prosecution dropped the charges against Orellana, allowing her to leave freely. The court ordered the forfeiture of the firearm to the Government of Belize, meaning Castillo must now appeal to the licensing board to regain his firearm.