On Thursday Belize City police arrested and charged the three persons who they say are involved in the robbery and hold-up at Brad’s Store. The accused have been identified as twenty one year old Robert Tracy who has been charged with handling of stolen goods, thirty three year old Stephanie Copius who has been charged with handling of stolen goods and her seventeen year old brother Shamir Medina who has been charged with aggravated assault and robbery.
On Thursday officer in charge of the Crimes Investigation Branch in Belize City Assistant Superintendent of Police Julio Valdez told 7News that Stephanie Copius was charged after she was found in possession of the items identified as the stolen phone cards and money taken from Brad’s Store and that Robert Tracy and Shamir Medina were charged after both were identified as the individuals who entered the store. Today all three appeared in court and while Stephanie Copius is out on bail her brother Shamir Medina has been remanded to boot camp and Robert Tracy is on remand at the Hattieville Prison.
Today Stephanie and Shamir’s mother Pamela Medina did not wish to appear on camera but she did come to our studios to say that her daughter is not only innocent but she should never have been charged. The mother is equally upset because she says the police have no evidence that identifies her son as one of the persons who entered brad’s store and did the hold up and robbery because she says there was no id parade. Medina says that while two police officers did come to her home and told her that because her son is a minor she needed to come to the station to witness his id parade. But when she got there Medina says an officer only told her that she was required to witness her son being charged. When she asked about the id parade she was only told that another officer should have done it. She says he didn’t but her son was still charged with aggravated assault and robbery. And her daughter Stephanie Copious was charged for handling stolen goods. But that’s because she was at her workplace on Euphrates Avenue on the night of the hold up. She heard a commotion outside as the high speed police chase was bearing down on her brother, 17 year old Shamir Medina. And when Shamir was getting into the police truck he handed something to his sister. That something is what police later identified as the items they claim were stolen from brads store.
But according to this very distraught mother, her daughter did not know what she was being handed much less where the items came from. And that’s why Pamela Medina says she does not believe her daughter should have been charged with handling stolen goods.
Jacqueline Godwin,
The things that Shamir handed to Stephanie were later identified as some of the times stolen from Brad’s Store.
Voice of Pamela Medina, Mother of Accused Sister/Brother
“Well according to the police, according to the police.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
And that’s why she has been charged with the handling of stolen goods.
Voice of Pamela Medina,
“Right. Stephanie doesn’t live where Shamir lives. Shamir lives at my address. Shamir is my youngest child, Shamir lives home. My daughter lives at her own address, she was at her workplace.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
In her defense she is saying that when her brother handed her these items she didn’t know where they came from, only that she was told to give this to you.
Voice of Pamela Medina,
“That’s right so she is an innocent bystander.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
While you’re not here to say if your son Shamir is innocent or not, you are upset about the way the case of handled. First of all you are saying that an ID parade was never held.
Voice of Pamela Medina,
“Never.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So you’re saying the police, they have nothing that puts your son inside Brad’s Store at the time it was being held up and robbed?
Voice of Pamela Medina,
“That is what I am saying and I am saying to them when I speak to the head authority is that he asked for an ID parade. I don’t think that a person is guilty of robbing somewhere would ask for an ID parade wearing a distinctive shirt with big bright bold colours that everybody could recognize, even if the guy didn’t recognize the face he would recognize the shirt because it is outstanding and he was refused an ID parade.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
You’re saying he should have never been charged with aggravated assault or robbery because there is nothing that puts him or the police have nothing that puts him inside the store at the time of the crime?
Voice of Pamela Medina,
“That’s what I am saying because probably he could have been a bystander just like what happened to my daughter. That is how I am looking at it because I can’t see me being stupid enough to go and rob a store and then ask to do an ID parade where people can identify me.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
But in this case your daughter is innocent.
Voice of Pamela Medina,
“She is innocent. I would put my head on the chopping block and I nuh swear fi children but I could swear for her. She has never been in trouble with the law, never.”
Crimes Investigation boss ASP Julio Valdez told us that the Stephanie Copius was charged with handling stolen goods because simply she was found in possession of the stolen items. Valdez also told us that while no id parade was held the other accused Shamir Medina and Robert Tracy were both identified through other means. They appeared in court today where 22-year-old Robert Tracy and 17 year old Shamir Medina were jointly charge with one count each of robbery with a firearm. 33-year-old Stephanie Copius, who works at Salty Dog on Euphrates was charge only with handling stolen goods. Police say that they found her in possession of $605 of the $625.25 that was stolen from Brad’s Store along with the stolen phone cards. The two were remanded and Stephanie Copious got bail of three thousand dollars.
