Tonight, the residents of Duck Run 2 and other nearby Cayo communities are agitating for mercy on behalf of 33-year-old Ramiro De La Rosa. He is in the process of being sent to jail for 3 years, simply because he allegedly took bad advice and pleaded guilty to a gun charge so that his wife could be released.
Last Friday, police conducted an early morning raid at his home in Duck Run 2. He was asleep with his wife and 2 young children when the cops came banging on the door. They ended up finding his father's licensed shotgun, and because he doesn't personally have a gun license for the weapon, he was arrested and charged. We are told that his dad recently passed away from COVID-19 and that the weapon's license will last up until the end of October.
The community insists that he is a family man who keeps out of trouble, and that's why they did not know how to get out of this sudden legal trouble they found themselves in. So, they turned to the cops and a friendly Justice of the Peace on how to get his wife released. They advised him to plead guilty to the charge, which he reluctantly did in the hopes that he would be released on bail. But, when he was arraigned that same day, the sitting magistrate handed him a 3-year prison sentence, no questions asked.
This evening, we spoke with his distressed wife via telephone, and she gave us an account of the predicament he currently finds himself in:
Voice of: Merli De La Rosa, Wife of Accused
"We opened the door because we feel free right and there were about 9 police men, they came into the house and they were asking for firearms. We had no idea about that and then they went into our room and they opened the attic and after that they found the firearm. The gun was a licensed gun that belong to my father-in-law. It was still licensed and it still is because the license will expire on October 21."
Reporter
"So the weapon was found in the attic of your house, it belongs to his father who recently died."
Voice of: Merli De La Rosa, Wife of Accused
"Yes, recently died of Covid19. And after that they were making big noise and we were so scared, because we had our kids in there and they were sleeping. My kids are going to bible school, so we let them rest as much as possible so they can learn. One of the police officers told me that I need to find someone to leave my kids with, so I had to wake up the neighbor and I ask her to please take care of my kids and then the babies came out crying. They were sitting with me on the sofa and they were crying and I told them that everything was going to be okay, that they have to believe in God and that everything was going to be alright."
"So I took them to the neighbor and then after that they put handcuffs on my husband and they put him in the back of the car and the police officer said that we need to plead guilty, so I could come out and that my husband would be bail for $1,500 and then he would be out. We went to the magistrate, they put both of us up there, we were talking, she read some paper they gave us and then she ask me if I pleaded guilty. I said not guilty. My husband said guilty and then my husband tried to talk to say I plead guilty but not because I am guilty of having the firearm, I pleaded guilty because I was in the house that had the gun, but that I knew that it was there. When he was trying to talk the lady said you be quiet or we will take your wife too. So after that they gave him the sentence. I started crying and they told me to go out, I heard my husband cried to the magistrate telling her please don't do this to me, I beg you, I am a good man, my kids need me. I am the only one that feeds my family at home. She just close up and the officer got up and that was it."
"We ask for help from everyone for what we could do, they were telling him to plead guilty. I remember very good when my husband told the justice of the peace, but the thing is I am not guilty. He told me that he would plead guilty because he wants me to go home to the kids, but I don't feel it's the right thing to do. He was crying right there in that room. He saw me that I was so upset, so sad, so tired, so scared - I think he just decide to do it. But he was not comfortable doing it."
As we told you, community members from Duck Run 2 and surrounding areas are hoping that the state will intervene on his behalf and grant him a pardon for a guilty plea, which they think he doesn't deserve. Politician and activist Nancy Marin has been organizing their virtual pleas by starting up the #justiceforramiro on Facebook.
Here's what one couple had to say on his behalf on this series of video testimonials:
Testimonials
"This is a plea to our governor general that Ramiro is not a violent person. Ramiro De La Rosa is not a criminal person. We are asking our governor general to please release Ramiro and grant full pardon. We've known Ramiro quite a long time, he is a good father, he is a good husband and is a good person. Please we are pleading on his behalf."
We are told that Ramiro is currently hospitalized because he suffers from medical ailments, and he had an episode during his arraignment. As soon as he is well enough, he will be transported to the Belize Central Prison.
