Doris Grant is Charged for Being a Member of a Gang

It’s been a tough few weeks for forty-eight-year-old Doris Grant.  From being charged with forty counts of theft and obtaining property by deception, to police raids on her properties in Gardenia Village and Belize City.  On Sunday morning, the businesswoman and her common-law husband came under gunfire on Fairweather Street, while heading home from a concert event.  While the pair is recovering from injuries received during the ambush, things have only gotten worse for Grant and thirty-one-year-old Austin Underwood.  Tonight, the couple is on remand at the Belize Central Prison after being charged for gang membership.  Shortly after twelve o’clock today, Grant and Underwood appeared before the lower courts where they were arraigned on a single charge each.  It is alleged that they are both members of the Southside Gang.  The couple pleaded not guilty, nonetheless, they were denied bail at the Magistrate Court level.  With that, Grant and Underwood are being held at the Belize Central Prison until July thirty-first.  Attorney Ronnell Gonzalez sought permission to make submissions on their behalf for the court to consider granting bail under special circumstances, however, the court did not entertain the request.  As we’ve reported, Grant is being investigated for her alleged involvement in a land scheme in which several Mennonites were defrauded out of millions of dollars.