In other court news, a Bowen & Bowen employee was taken to Magistrate's Court today for allegedly stealing several boxes of Smirnoff Ice from his employer. That accused employee is 30-year-old Phillip James Lopez, a security guard who looks after the company's Ladyville compound.
Last Friday, a supervisor at Belize Brewing Company visited the Ladyville Police Station and reported that on Saturday, August 20, he went to the company's warehouse, located on Marage Road. He began to check the inventory of beverages at the warehouse, and that's when he noticed that 15 cases of Smirnoff, with a total value of $1,170, were missing. The beverages were missing, and only the crates remained.
Police commenced an investigation, and their inquiries led them to arrest and charged Lopez with the crime of theft. He was arraigned today before a Senior Magistrate for the single charge, and he pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor did not object, and so the court offered him bail in the sum of $1,500.
But up until this evening, he was unable to meet bail, and so he was escorted to the Belize Central Prison. That's where he will remain until he can post bail.
