Last night, 7News told you about that major development in Belmopan where 4 men were charged and arraigned on the robbery and murder which happened at La Choza Bar.
Well, there were several points which were understated in our coverage, so with help from our colleagues at Plus TV, Daniel Ortiz revisits them tonight. Here's that report.
Daniel Ortiz reporting
On Sunday morning just after 12 a.m., police found 43 year-old Salvadoran Isabel Antonio Ballona dying at La Choza Bar where he was having a drink with his boss, 50 year-old Saldvadoran Manuel Aquino.
4 armed, masked men wearing black clothing robbed the bar owner of his money and of the sales in the cash register. Police say that both men tried to assist the bar owner, and this caused the robbers to respond with deadly force.
They shot Aquino in the legs, and fatally wounded Ballona in the chest and stomach, after which, they fled in the bar owner's vehicle.
Solid investigations led police to recover the vehicle the next day. They also caught one of the culprits trying to flee the area.
ASP Sinquest Martinez - OC, Belmopan Police
"We sat down, Sunday morning and strategize and from there it was one person that we caught within the area of the car and that's what caused us to crack the case. The detention of the men started on Sunday Morning - we started at about 7 persons detained in Las Flores area and after which when we went there and conducted searches on themselves and their houses that was when we found some of the items and that led us to more items."
So, how does this tie these men to the May 8, brazen robbery of the UB Dormitory in Belmopan? Well, police say that they have evidence to support that. Apparently, their one slip up with the vehicle, snowballed into charges being brought against them for both attacks.
ASP Sinquest Martinez
"All these persons, the young boys that were detained - an item was found on them or at their home - one of the stolen items was either from the University of Belize or the establishment that was robbed on Saturday."
So, now that Belmopan police have both these crimes neatly tied up, they just have to make sure the charges stick.
But at this time, 29 year old Edwin Paula, 19 year old Manuel Hernandez, 18 year old Rudy Santos and Rasheed Crespo are all on remand on 3 counts of Robbery and 1 count of Murder.
29 year old Edwin Paula will additionally face 2 counts of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
In relation to the UB attack, all 4 men were jointly charged with 9 counts of aggravated burglary.
