Last night we told you about a late breaking news story concerning a police shooting in Ladyville that has left a suspected burglar with a gunshot injury. But as we found out today, the man is no ordinary thief. In fact police say that John Hendy is a seasoned criminal who has been very busy in the Belize District. But yesterday afternoon he was stopped in his tracks after he was caught red handed inside a couple’s home in the residential community of Ridge Lagoon Estates in Burrell Boom area.
According to the Officer in Charge of Ladyville Sergeant Lawrence Humes, the residents weren’t home at the time but their alarm system was activated and it dispatched a warning to their cell phone. The couple called the police and they raced home to find that a window had been tampered with and someone was inside.
While the homeowners remained outside Ladyville Police dispatched a team to the location. Sergeant Humes told 7NEWS that John Hendy was found hiding inside a bedroom.
Sgt. Lawrence Humes, Ladyville Police
“Upon getting inside of the house we made checks and noticed that the culprit, one Hendy, known to us as Hendy, was in the house and underneath the bed. The police ordered the person to come from beneath the bed and took him outside of the building where they further ordered that he remained on the floor as he made checks and spoke to the owner of the house. Whilst there the culprit started to behave a bit boisterous and behaved disorderly, kicking and so forth, whilst on the ground. However he managed to get up from off the ground and decided to make a run for it. Police set chase after the culprit, ordering him to stop and the culprit pulled the screwdriver from one of his pockets and turned around to face the police officer. The police ordered for him to drop the screwdriver which he failed to and refused to and upon doing that the police really felt threatened and fired two shots hitting the person on his lower leg.
We had a variety of items that he was caught with and immediately the owners of the house identified the items as theirs.
Hendy is a known burglar in the area. He has been pulling off burglaries in places like Burrell Boom, Isabella, and now Ridge Lagoon. So he is a known burglar.”
Late this afternoon John Hendy was arraigned in Magistrate’s Court for the charge of burglary and aggravated assault. In court Hendy pleaded guilty burglary but not guilty for aggravated assault. He has been remanded to Hattieville Prison until his next court date on June fourth. Humes says it was the alarm system that resulted in the apprehension and the sergeant adds that where possible, those families who must leave their homes for work all day should invest in one.
