Yesterday morning Dangriga police were on patrol when they encountered what can only be described as a strange and bizarre case. They saw a bearded, clear skinned man sitting inside a parked Isuzu Trooper. He seemed to be a foreigner and police thought he may have needed assistance so they approached him. But when the police pickup pulled up the man started his engine and charged towards them at high speed. Too much speed, and he lost control and careened into the right side of the police truck.
But that wasn’t the end of it. The man then reversed and took out a chrome object that looked like a gun. Police fired six shots above the man’s head who sped off in the direction of Belmopan with the police in hot pursuit. Belmopan authorities were alerted and later managed to apprehend the driver.
It was while in police custody that they found out the man was a Canadian national identified as Noah Baver. Baver who has a valid Canadian passport also had five thousand dollars on him. It was also discovered that Noah Baver has been in Belize for a while and it was not his first brush with local law enforcement. Apparently Noah Baver was found guilty of immigration violation and that seems to have been the only problem he may have had with authorities.
The police ran a back ground check with Interpol and it revealed that Noah Baver is not wanted by U.S. and Canadian authorities. It has not been determined what business Noah Baver is doing in Belize, but he has told the cops that he has no place of residence and has been living in his vehicle. But for someone who is not on the run or wanted by any law enforcement why did he charge at Dangriga police? Police think that Baver may not have recognized the police pickup truck and thought instead that his life was in danger and tried to get away.
But fright or justifiable flight, Baver did commit a traffic offense and he has been charged with damage to property. Baver pled guilty and was charged one thousand dollars. He has also compensated the police with an equivalent payment. Still, he remains in the custody of the Immigration Department. It is not certain if he will be deported to Canada for quite possibly violating immigration laws again.
