Tonight, 31 year-old Jamie Hendricks Smith, and 38 year-old Leon Martinez are at the Belize Central Prison for firearm offenses. Police say that they found an unlicensed weapon in Martinez's taxi. Both men were in the cab, and so, both of them have been charged for it.
On Saturday evening, at around 4:45, police were patrolling Raccoon Street Extension, when they saw Smith and Martinez in a grey Toyota Camry taxi. When the men saw them coming, they began acting suspiciously. So, the cops stopped, and ordered them both to exit the vehicle. They refused, and so, the cops removed them from the vehicle, and informed them that they would be searched along with the vehicle for illegal items.
The cops quickly spotted a rusty 9mm pistol, which had the serial numbers removed; it was found under the driver's seat. They checked it, and found an extended magazine which was loaded with 13 live rounds of ammunition. Both men were arrested and charged with keeping an unlicensed firearm, keeping unlicensed ammunition, and keeping prohibited material, for the extended magazine.
They were arraigned before Magistrate Palmer today, and they both pled not guilty to the offenses. The Magistrate then asked both men to give her a compelling reason why she should grant them bail, and they both told the court that they have family members who depend on them as breadwinners, and as the heads of household. The prosecutor objected to bail, and after consideration, the Magistrate agreed. She remanded them to the Belize Central Prison until their next court date, which is August 29, 2018.
