He's one of the highest ranking officers ever to be brought before the court on criminal charges and so it was for 46 year old Superintendent Ewart Itza today. Itza is accused of wounding, harm false imprisonment, insulting words and threats of death stemming from an incident in August of 2003 where Itza was reportedly drunk and abused two men by assaulting them in the street and then throwing them in jail.
The case began today in Belize City Magistrate's Court with a rumble when Itza's two defense attorneys B.Q. Pitts and Ellis Arnold argued that they had not received disclosure of critical pieces of evidence including the station diary. The diary became an issue when principal police investigator Assistant Commissioner Bernard Lino referred to it in his testimony. The case continues tomorrow.