On January 4th, 21 year old Naturalized Belizean/Salvadoran Jerardo De Jesus Garrido of Duck Run 2 visited the Spanish Look Out police station to claim a motorcycle of his which was in police custody. Seemed like a good idea, except the motorcycle was involved in the commission of a crime the day before.
According to the Cayo Star newspaper, Garrido didn't leave with the cycle, instead he was detained pending investigations into a robbery of Armando Cortez, a fellow villager.
Cortes told police that he was at home that night on Monday January 3rd when he was approached by two armed and masked Hispanic men.
The men ordered Cortes and his family inside their home and demanded money. Cortes, fearing for his life, handed over five thousand dollars. Shortly after, the two robbers got on a cycle and escaped.
Police investigations led to the discovery of the cycle abandoned on the outskirts of the village. The motorcycle was taken to the police station and shortly after, Cortez arrived to claim it. Police then detained and questioned him.
He broke down and led them to an area in Santa Familia village where they found a knapsack containing two camouflage jackets, 2 pairs of trousers, a.38 revolver with twenty five live rounds of ammunition, a.380 pistol with fifty -five live rounds, along with a dozen twelve gauge cartridges, and ninety-five dollars and fifty-five cents in coins. A few feet away from the bag, Cortez also showed the police a 12 gauge pump action shotgun.
Following that discovery, police investigations led to the arrest of thirty five year old Emilio Lopez, a naturalized Belizean originally from El Salvador. A search of house led to the discovery of a twelve gauge cartridge and about three hundred and fifty dollars.
The accused, Garrido, is now facing eight charges: three counts of keeping firearm without a gun license, as well as three counts of keeping ammunition without a gun license. In connection, he was also charged with aggravated burglary and handling stolen goods of Armando Cortes. Lopez was also charged with aggravated burglary and keeping ammunition without a gun license.
According to Star Newspaper, the pump action 12 gauge shot gun is the property of the police department. While, the missing shotgun didn't make the news it went missing some six months ago from the Belmopan Police Station. Both Garrido and Lopez have been remanded to prison as a result of the firearm and ammunition charges.
