Crime - Channel 5 Belize

Police Constable Remanded for Unnatural Crime upon Minor

A police constable is spending his first night behind bars after he was denied bail on a charge of unnatural crime. The police officer has also been interdicted from active duty and will face disciplinary charges. Twenty-nine-year-old Marcus Che was arraigned today at the Punta Gorda Magistrate’s Court, where he was read the charge. He appeared undefended before the court and was denied bail. The magistrate ordered Che to return to court on June eleventh. The charge against him stemmed from an incident at the Punta Gorda Police Station in the wee hours of Sunday. Police say that the minor, a fifteen-year-old boy, accompanied by his mother, reported the matter on Tuesday. When he spoke with the media today, Commissioner Williams said he was disgusted when he learned about the incident.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“When I was brief of that matter yesterday, I was extremely disgusted of what transpired and more so, inside the police station. From what I was briefed is that Police Constable Marcus Che, who is assigned – or who was assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit in Punta Gorda Town, invited a young man of 15 years old to his office, and his office is located on the upper flat of the Punta Gorda Town police station. And in his office he performed anal sex with the 15-year-old. The 15-year-old and his father reported the matter to the police and Marcus Che has since been arrested and charged for unnatural crime and he has since been interdicted from duty. I think that it’s certainly threw a monkey wrench into the work that we have been doing to try and restore trust and confidence. It is going to take a very long time to restore that confidence for parents to want to send their children to the police station in Punta Gorda Town, but I want to assure the parents and the people of Punta Gorda Town that we are going to be doing all we can to make sure that this police officer is brought to justice and that there is no reoccurrence of this issue. I’m sure the public is going to be forgiving in terms of what transpired to know that we have a huge organization to run. And as much as we will try, we’ll never be able to control what each and every member of our department does. But what we can control is what we do in the aftermath of them committing themselves. And I think that we have had a very good track record in dealing with our own when they step out of line.”

Belmopan Businesswoman Claims Self-defense in Fatal Shooting

Belmopan resident, Ronald Gibson died today after he was shot by a businesswoman who claims that he tried to rob her. Gilda Abadi told police that Gibson tried to attack her and her daughter in Belmopan. Abadi pulled out her licensed firearm and shot Gibson in the stomach. It’s an incident that Commissioner Williams says appears to be self-defense. But Gibson’s sister, Shawn Gardiner, who spoke to her brother before he died, vehemently disagrees with Abadi’s account of what transpired.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“From all indications, the investigation is showing that the lady acted in defense of herself and her child. It happened that the person died a couple days after, so what we’ll do is what we normally would do, is to put together the file and we send it to the D.P.P.”

Reporter

“Now, you know, we always speak about the justified use of lethal force, and one of the issues is always proportionality. Clearly, the woman felt she was under grave mortal threat. Understandably, it’s she and her daughter, but are you concerned that perhaps it will not meet that threshold of proportionality to use lethal force against someone who is holding you up to rob you?”

Chester Williams

“I do not think so. The woman and her child were together. The man accosted them to rob them. She ordered him to stop. He continued to make moves towards her. Generally, a man is stronger than a woman. She was armed with a weapon. Imagine him approaching her and would have been able to hold on to her, get a hold of her firearm. He certainly would have overpowered her, would have taken away that gun and maybe would have killed her. I don’t foresee an instance where her actions would not be deemed justified, but I’m not going to be the arbiter of that issue. It is going to be left for the DPP. But for my legal standpoint, I do not see how that could happen. I believe she acted in self-defense.

Shawn Gardiner, Sister of Ronald Gibson

“She’s claiming that she didn’t have a bullet in her gun, so my question is how comes my brother got shot if she didn’t have a bullet in a gun. And from what my brother told me, he was walking on the side of the walkway and it was dark and he didn’t see who shot him. He just felt it, and he wasn’t robbing nobody because he was a distance away from Ms Amadi. So Ms Amadi or Abadi or whatever is her name, has to get her facts right. He wasn’t even close to them and you have to hear about two sides of a story, you know, so I need justice for my brother because this won’t be left like this. I’ll sue her if I have to, or whosoever did it because I met someone in Belmopan personally and he told me that it wasn’t that lady that shot my brother so my question is who shot my brother?”

Adoptive Mother Sentenced to Five Years for Child Cruelty

Today, a sixty-three-year-old woman was sentenced to five years imprisonment for child cruelty. Reports are that between January and July of 2017, Anke Doehm, the adoptive mother of thirteen-year-old Faye Lin Cannon, willfully neglected the minor and subjected her to injury to her health. Doehm had adopted four female minors from China and took them to live with her in the United States, before migrating to San Pedro with her and her late husband. However, in 2017, the then, thirteen-year-old Faye died while in Doehm’s care. It was later confirmed that the minor had been malnourished, as well as physically and sexually abused. Doehm appeared before Justice Derick Sylvester today, who, after considering the aggravating and mitigating factors, handed down a five-year sentence with effect from march fourth, 2024 when she was found guilty. These factors included, in his view, a lack of remorse displayed, a lack of accountability, the neglect of the child and a failure to provide adequate meals and physical abuse inflicted by Doehm’s husband. Sylvester also noted that Doehm required psychological help and must be considered a danger to children in society. As a result, she must also enroll in every rehabilitation program at the prison, and she is not eligible for parole until after serving half of her five-year prison term. Doehm was initially charged jointly with her husband, David Doehm, however, he took his life before the case came to trial. Regarding Doehm’s medical condition, a recommendation was made that she must return to Cancun for follow-up treatment. Justice Sylvester took note of this and reassured Doehm that, according to CEO Virgilio Murillo, the Belize Central Prison facilitates medical treatment for prisoners and should a prisoner require outside treatment, arrangements can be made.

Male Police Office Charged with “Unnatural Crime” Against Male Minor

Police officer Marcus Che is tonight sitting in a jail cell at the Belize Central Prison after he was arraigned on a single charge of “unnatural crime.” He is accused of raping a fifteen-year-old boy on Sunday, April 14.

The official police report states that “On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at about 9:30 a.m., a 15-year-old, (male) Belizean student of Punta Gorda Town reported to police in the presence of his mother that on Sunday, April 14, 2024, sometimes around 2:45 a.m., a 29-year-old, Belizean Police Officer had sexual relations with him.”

PC Marcus Che was arraigned today at the Punta Gorda Magistrate Court and was read a single charge of unnatural crime. Due to the nature of the crime, no plea was taken from him, and he was remanded until June 11, 2024, for disclosure.

BREAKING: Anke Doehm Sentenced!

Sixty-three-year-old Anke Doehm was today sentenced to five years behind bars at the Belize Central Prison. Doehm, who was reportedly diagnosed with blood cancer in 2018, was found guilty of cruelty of a child. Doehm stood trial following the death of thirteen-year-old Fay Lin Cannon back in 2017. The tragic incident involving the abused teenager happened in San Pedro. The court determined that Fay Lin was malnourished and abused sexually and physically.

Doehm must also enroll in every rehabilitation programme at the prison. She will be eligible for parole after serving half of her prison term.

Full details on News 5 Live at 6 o’clock.

Former Junior College Honour Student Slain

A man was shot and killed in the Lake Independence area of Belize City on Monday night. The incident happened in front of an apartment complex shortly before eight p.m. on Flamboyant Street near its intersection with Mahogany Street. The victim is Michael Usher, a resident of the Majestic Alley area. Police are investigating the motive behind the killing, but notably, the Belize Police Department instituted a State of Emergency in March to reduce the level of gang-related violence in Belize City. And from all indications, this latest murder was the result of gang rivalry that spans two neighborhoods which are geographically distant. News Five’s Marion Ali has the story.

Marion Ali, Reporting

This was how residents of Flamboyant Street found thirty-three-year-old Michael Usher after he was shot sometime before eight on Monday night. The Pinks Alley resident was reportedly heading towards Mahogany Street on foot when he came under gunfire. A young man approached him from behind and shot Usher as he reached in front of this apartment complex.

Residents would not speak to us on record but indicated that they were inside their homes when they heard as many as six shots ring out. When the shooting subsided, they ventured outside and saw Usher, fatally wounded, lying on the concrete. The police, in a press release, informed that upon their arrival at the scene, Usher appeared motionless and that he was pronounced dead on arrival at the K.H.M.H.

This morning when we visited the location, bloodstains were still visible where Usher fell and took his final breath. Usher attended Wesley Junior College from 2007 to 2010, was the president of the student council government at the high school and was also reportedly an honour student. But what he did upon his graduation is anyone’s guess. In April 2022, he was the victim of a shooting along with two others, while on Handyside Street. At that time, there were two assailants on a motorcycle who targeted the trio. Police have not indicated whether they have detained anyone for this latest homicide. Marion Ali for News Five.

Two Persons Wanted for Questioning in Placencia Murder

On Sunday, a murder in Placencia sent shockwaves across the peaceful coastal community, as family and friends mourned the loss of thirty-three-year-old Roy Burgess. Reports are that Burgess was inside his vehicle on mile twenty-two along the Placencia Road with a female companion, Maia James, when they were approached by a male suspect who opened fire on the unsuspecting pair. James, who was shot in the face, is still recovering and seeking financial assistance from the public for her medical expenses. Unfortunately, Burgess succumbed to his injuries that day. In relation to the incident, two persons are being sought for questioning by the police. They are thirty-one-year-old Ellis Meighan and twenty-nine-year-old Joseph Vaccaro. Both men are known to the police.

Will SOE Be Extended and Expanded?

When a state of emergency was introduced three weeks ago, there was talk that it would be extended and expanded to include other areas as the police department saw fit. Monday’s murder of Michael Usher, who lived in the vicinity of Majestic Alley but was shot and killed near Mahogany Street, means that the police department may have to re-strategize so as to prevent retaliation among those rival groups. This was the scope of the SOE as it applied to those areas in Belize City back in March, as explained by Commissioner of Police Chester Williams.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police (File: March 26th, 2024)

“The police and the B.D.F. are on operations within, not just the Antelope area, but practically the entire south side Belize City. As you would be aware by now, a state of emergency was declared this morning covering the almost entire south side of Belize city…Here in Belize City, you know that we have had a slate of shootings, two of which were fatal…The truth is we have seen a long lull Belize City. Again, I always say it takes one idiot to pull a trigger and that could cause a flare-up. And these flare-ups are going to happen occasionally, and we have to be able to have the right approach in dealing with it. As I have said to the minister when we discussed the SOE that it had reached a stage where if we don’t do something, then the cancer is going to spread further and then the other gangs are going to feel like, oh, over there it’s flaring up and nothing’s been done to them, so better we have our own thing so we have to ensure that we do something that is measurable and that is going to bring some calm.”

Leader of the Opposition Criticizes PM for “Failed” SOE

Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow has slammed the government, and more directly the prime minister, for what he calls an ineffective state of emergency. Today, Barrow pointed to murders that have happened while the S.O.E. has been in place. Barrow also blasts PM John Briceño as chair of the National Security Commission, which he also believes has been ineffective when it comes to fighting crime.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“I don’t recall over the last 15 years at least that there has ever been a situation where the government has declared a state of emergency and we have had this amount of murder take place. I’d like to quote, the learned or some would say unlearned Prime Minister John Briceno. It is apparent that our government has no real solution to solving crime. Nowhere was this more evident than in this was during the UDP era when the Government declared a state of emergency on the people of the south side of Belize City, which did not result in any lasting peace. The sad, tragic irony of this is under the state of emergency, I believe, the first day or day after the state of emergency was declared, we had a murder. The Minister of Police is failing. We have been saying that for the last three years, the prime minister as the chair of the National Security Commission is failing. The fact of the matter is since the government, the PUP government declared a state of emergency, we’ve had more murders than I believe at any time that the state of emergency has been declared.”

Who is Joseph Camp?

The first time many of us got to know of Joseph Camp was when he went live on Facebook following the shooting of his brother-in-law, eighteen-year-old Jaylon Jones, earlier this month. Jones was shot by Belize City police following the murder of twenty-six-year-old Charles James on Tuesday, April 11, near his home on Consuelo Street in Belize City. Jones was later charged with James’ murder.

Jaylon Jones charged with the murder of Charles James

James was considered a respected member of the Belize Coast Guard. He was the nephew of the late Winston “Tanga” James, a figure known for his gang affiliations. However, Police Commissioner Chester Williams maintained that his murder was not gang-related and was instead driven by a dispute over a romantic partner.

When police arrived on the scene, chaos erupted. This led to a shootout between police officers and the suspects. Jones sustained a gunshot wound to the foot amid the chaos. But Jones’s family complained about his detention. They, including Camp, asserted that he was wrongly identified and had no connection to the altercation besides being caught in the midst of it. Camp decided to go live from the Raccoon Street Police Station, saying that his brother-in-law had been shot and that police officers were “purposely trying to keep him dead.” He also says that the police officers assaulted him. He repeatedly tells the officers that he is an American citizen. Camp was subsequently charged with spreading false news.

*Joseph Camp appearing in court with Attorney Sharon Pitts.*

He appeared in court in Belize City with his attorney, Sharon Pitts. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay a fine of six hundred Belize dollars or be sentenced to three months behind bars.

In one of his social media posts, he says, “Imagine the meltdown when they realize that it is $600bzd which is equal to only $300usd. Since I have no criminal history and very high and good character it was the minimal it could be.”

*Joseph Camp explains that 600 Belize dollars is 300 US dollars.*

Camp has a criminal history in the U.S.A. He was asked about it on Friday. He said, “In 2010, I was arrested for changing my grades at the University of Central Missouri. I thought that it would be easier to change my grades. The police thought it would be a felony. Three years later, I was acquitted of all of those charges, except for a minor offense.”

*Former Student Sentenced for Computer Hacking at University of Central Missouri*

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Missouri, Camp was sentenced to three years in federal prison without parole for his involvement in a computer hacking conspiracy. Camp, along with Daniel J. Fowler, gained unauthorised access to the UCM computer network, obtaining sensitive information and attempting to alter grades and transfer money to their student accounts. They also developed a virus to infect UCM computers and remotely access webcams and email accounts. Camp pleaded guilty to these charges in April 2013. The court also ordered Camp to pay $61,500 in restitution.

Camp says he is a software developer.