2 weeks ago, 29-year-old Omar Angel Avelar made the evening news. That's after he shot a man just outside of Orange Walk Town and attacked 3 others while claiming that he fending off an armed robbery attempt.
Well tonight, he's on remand at the Belize Central Prison, after being taken to court for being in possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
Police say that last Thursday night, at around 8:15, 2 officers were conducting mobile patrol on Vernon Street. That's when their attention was drawn to a Hispanic man who was hitting a parked car with some sort of object. He allegedly pulled off the side mirrors and smashed a side window.
The officers approached that man, who was later identified as Avelar, who started to walk in the direction of the vehicle, which started to drive away. Police ordered Avelar to stop, and when he complied, they questioned him about his reasons for damaging the vehicle. According to the officers, he was behaving in a drunken manner, with the smell of alcohol on his breath, slurred speech, and constant verbal repetitions.
When the officers searched Avelar, they found a black handgun in the waist of his pants, which had a silver magazine containing live rounds of ammunition. During the search, an elderly man arrived in the area and claimed that he is the owner of the vehicle and that Avelar is his son.
Late yesterday evening, Avelar was arraigned before Senior Magistrate Tricia Pitts-Anderson on the offenses of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs; and failing to provide blood or urine specimen.
Due to the nature of the offenses, Avelar was denied bail and remanded to the Belize Central Prison until June 1, 2022.
