2024-04-17 - Channel 5 Belize

Police Make Huge Gun and Drug Bust on Island Off Belize City Coast

A police operation on an island off the coast of Belize City yielded several high-powered rifles and a large quantity of drugs. On Tuesday, a team of police officers visited the island in search of individuals from the Lake Independence area who are wanted under the state of emergency. Not only were they able to locate three known gang members, but the officers also discovered five weapons, including two high-powered rifles and three handguns. They also unearthed twenty-six pounds of cannabis and five pounds of suspected cocaine. The island is believed to be used by members of the gang as a depot for their drug shipments and guns. It is a major bust for the Belize Police Department, as it seeks to crack down on the spate of gun violence in Belize City, even under a state of emergency. The guns are now being prepared for testing to determine whether they are linked to any crimes. Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, spoke with reporters this evening at the Racoon Street Police Station. He told us more.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Yesterday, police visited an island just off the shore of Belize City where searches were conducted and the search led to the discovery of twelve thousand grams of cannabis, parceled off in a few parcels and two thousand three hundred grams of cocaine that were in two separate kilo size parcels and one two, two, three rifle on the island, police also found three individuals from the PIV area. Those persons and the drugs and firearm were brought to Belize City for processing and the three individuals have since been arrested and charged for drug trafficking and keeping unlicensed firearm. We believe the island is used as a store house for the PIV gang members. When they get their shipment of drugs it would be taken to the island and then they would bring from the island to the city in small quantities. We went and conducted searches on two other islands where we believe the PIV has some connections to and on one of those islands, we found one M4 carbine rifle, one assault five-point seven caliber rifle, one twenty-two rifle, one point forty caliber handgun and one nine-millimeter handgun. Five firearms were found, three of which are rifles and two handguns. No one was on that island so those items will be deposited as found property. Police continue to do a number of searches in areas we believe PIV gangs, or any other gangs would have some connection to with a view to unearth their tools of trade as well as to see if we can find some of them who are still wanted under the SOE.”

Three Men Arrested and Charged in Relation to Major Drug and Gun Bust

As we said, three persons were found on an island off the coast of Belize City where police discovered drugs and guns on Tuesday. They are forty-one-year-old Edwin “Drive” Flowers, thirty-two-year-old Kenyon Dominquez and twenty-five-year-old Gaston Barrow. Flowers is no stranger to the law. He is said to be a former gang leader. Several attempts have also been made on his life. And, he has also been to court on charges of robbery and murder. Flowers was recently employed by the Leadership Intervention Unit. ComPol Williams was asked if the LIU is shielding known gang figures. Here is how he responded.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“The LIU is vehicle that we are using to see how we can change the minds and hearts of these street figures. I can see where in some instances it is working. The LIU is not a shield for anybody and so I don’t want no one to believe that because a particular person is a member of LIU or works with LIU that they are immune from criminal liability or from the police going to their homes and search. I have always said that once police get information of anybody of crime or anything illegal the police is going to do what needs to be done regardless of who that person is. So “Drive” works closely with LIU. He is a person in the program, and we have tried our best to work with him and it goes back to what I have said. We police with a double-edged sword. We offer the dull side to the persons who want to change but once they start to perpetuate criminal acts, we have to use the sharp side of the sword and cut them off it is as simple as that.”

Police Say Video Shows Murder Victim, Michael Usher was With Female

On Monday night, Michael Usher was shot dead on Flamboyant Street in Belize City. It was a murder that had all the makings of a gang-related incident. Today, Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams told the media that Usher, who lived in Pinks Alley, had accompanied a woman to the area and that the department will release video evidence to determine the identity of the woman he was with, should a need arise.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“When I was notified of it I asked the same question to myself. What was he doing in P.I.V area, for the simple fact that we know that P.I.V and Majestic Alley do not see eye to eye and there is that issue between them. Again, from all indications, we know that he was lured to the area by a woman. We do have the video footage of him leaving Majestic Alley with that woman. We are still trying to identify who that woman is. We have the video. I might eventually release to the public to help us to identify who she is but we need to identify that woman to see what she can give the police in terms of why she took him to the P.I.V area. But again, I’m not going to say that it’s an act of jealousy but rather I believe that it is more a gang issue because he is from Majestic Alley. He was in the P.I.V area. The two do not see eye to eye, why they do have conflict with each other.”

Police Commissioner Says Extension of S.O.E. Would Help

The state of emergency that came into effect three weeks ago, has resulted in the rounding up of quite a few Belize City residents who police say are active gang members involved in criminality. But since the S.O.E. was implemented, there have been several murders and shootings. And some say the S.O.E. has been ineffective in what it was designed to accomplish. Today Commissioner Williams told the media that he is of a different view and that an extension of the state of emergency would help.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

”The areas that we had targeted for the SOE, which was the extension area and Roaring Creek, and a part of Camalote, since the SOE, we have had no murders in those areas, and those were the two main areas that we had targeted for the SOE. It just so happened that we contemplated to have included other areas of South side Belize City, in the event that they would have acted out during that period of the SOE. And it happened that P.I.V began acting out within that period, and so they are now included in it going forward. And yes, if there’s an extension, then it is going to help us to be able to look more at the P.I.V gang and any other gang that may that we have seen developing that tendency of wanting to go out and commit any violent act against anybody.”

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?”

Mayor Says City Administrator Fiasco is “Much ado about nothing”

There is discontent within the Belize City Council in the wake of a recent decision taken by Mayor Bernard Wagner to appoint former councilor Albert Vaughn as the new city administrator. As many as six councilors, including Deputy Mayor Alan Pollard Jr., have written to Mayor Wagner objecting to Vaughn’s selection as the incoming municipal manager. Their reason for opposing the appointment is based on the requirements for the post. They contend that beyond his six-year tenure as a councilor and his past experience as a member of the Belize Defense Force, Vaughn has nothing to show that he is capable of handling such an important role at City Hall. According to Mayor Wagner, who spoke with News Five one-on-one this morning, the discord is much ado about nothing.

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“A lot made out of nothing. I essentially acted on the recommendations of the interviewing committee and I did that action and then I anticipated that I would take it to the caucus for ratification. The ratification purpose really serves to approve the action that I did, and so we are really looking forward to get this passed. I am anticipating full support from my council.”

Isani Cayetano

“This is a situation, however, where as many as six councilors have objected to this particular appointment, citing concerns about the qualifications of Mr. Vaughn to handle such a portfolio.”

Bernard Wagner

“Well, I think the new CA [city administrator] really has, based on the interview that he did, really reassured the residents of the city that he has all the competency level. So how do you measure competency level? Does he have the knowledge? Does he have the skill? But more importantly, does he have the value system and the integrity? And I believe that [Albert] Vaughn passed all of those marks.”

Isani Cayetano

“The idea, nonetheless, of there being some form of democracy or transparency in respect of the decision-making process and the fact that these six councilors are saying, essentially, [they] the form the majority and their position isn’t being acknowledged.”

Bernard Wagner

“Their position is acknowledged. They have their forum at the caucus where we debate the issues. I will bring the action that I did for their ratification. Ratification simply means that you go through the vetting, you debate the merits of it and then, in a gentleman’s way, you get these things done.”

Mayor Wagner on Dissenting City Councilors, “Dehn wahn get past it.”

Mayor Wagner says that the friction at City Hall over the appointment of Albert Vaughn will eventually fade away as the council prepares itself to get on with the business of serving the residents of Belize City.

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“We are all elected officials and the people really brought us in to serve their interest and serving their interest means getting on the job and getting the job done for the people of the city. That is what they elected us for and I really believe that our council, everybody goes through their lee hurdle, dehn wahn get past it, and I’m confident that together, as a group, we can work out these little glitches that are here and there. But the main thing here is that we were elected to really serve the interest of the people. We have a lot of work to do for the people, the people elected us with a huge mandate and we have to ensure that we look out for their best interest at all times.”

Isani Cayetano

“My final question on the matter, mayor; how do you respond to the idea that this would seem as if though it has been heavily politicized in terms of the appointment of Mr. Vaughn and what appears to be factions within the PUP who would want to have their own way insofar as the new city administrator?”

Bernard Wagner

“At the end of the day, we as a group, as a PUP city council, we want to ensure that not only do we look out for the best interest of our government and ensuring that we keep the positive synergy together but we, at the core of all this, we have to ensure that we look out for the interest of the people. And while there may be differences of opinion, at the end of the day we have to come together and put these aside for the best interest of the residents of the city.”

Francis Fonseca Supports Vaughn as New CA

So where does Freetown Area Representative Francis Fonseca, an avid supporter of Vaughn, stand in all of this? This morning, Fonseca told News Five that while he stands behind Vaughn’s appointment, he had nothing to do with the process of selecting the city administrator.

Francis Fonseca, Area Representative, Freetown

“Obviously, I support Albert, but I should make it very clear, you know, as I’ve said, anybody who knows Albert Vaughn knows that he is his own man, he makes his own decisions. So I did not encourage Albert to apply for the post of city administrator; in fact, selfishly I would have preferred for him to remain on the ground with me in Freetown and continue to support the work that we do here at NICH, as a member of the board. So, but you know, he made that decision to apply and out of respect for him, I certainly support that decision. So, you know, that’s my position.”

Isani Cayetano

“What do you make of the internal row, the controversy within the Belize City Council, as far as his appointment and what seems to be, from their perspective, some kind of a unilateral decision taken to put him in that office?”

Francis Fonseca

“Yeah, I really, to be very honest with you, I am so busy that I have not been following the internal workings of the Belize City Council. I know that our team in Freetown worked very hard to get all of them elected, so it’s very disappointing to see this kind of division emerging. I don’t know where it’s coming from and what the objective is. I think all of them know Albert Vaughn and they know that he is a good man who works very hard and is committed to Belize City. So it’s disappointing, but I am sure they have their own reasons and I am sure it will resolve itself, you know, hopefully amicably, so that we can get on with the real business of the people. The residents of Belize City want to have a city council that is working for them and that’s what’s most important.”

CitCo Hits the Ground Running, Despite CA Hiccups

The Belize City Council, under the leadership of Mayor Bernard Wagner, has commenced a third consecutive term and, despite the quarrel over a city administrator, has hit the ground running. It’s been a little over five weeks since the People’s United Party municipal government took office and, according to Mayor Wagner, the team has been working diligently to ensure all vacancies are filled.

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“It’s simply has been work, work, work, trying to get our team back in place. As you know, the untimely passing of our city administrator, we have to ensure that we have to get our finance director in place. We have to ensure that we get our internal auditor in place, we have to ensure that we get all the other vacancies filled. It’s only so when you have those vacancies filler that you are able to really drive change and drive development in your city. Once we get those vacancies filled and we are certain of the plan on how we go about that, then we will not have any issue, no issue at all. I am confident that come, at our caucus our councilors will ensure that we get the job of the people done.”