This afternoon, four men dubbed "pirates" were arraigned in court after they were caught out at sea by the Belize Coast Guard. They were found on Tuesday off San Pedro with ski masks and 47 live rounds, but no firearms - which may have been thrown in the sea. The four men, 27 year old Bryan Correa, 20 year old Brandon Brown, 18 year old Juan Carlos Blanco, and a 17 year old minor, appeared unrepresented in court and read two criminal charges of two counts of kept ammunition without a gun license.
At the arraignment, Blanco took ownership of 46 live rounds of 9mm ammunition whereas Brown - who is the son of a woman police corporal - took ownership of one.223 live round. Blanco was fined $5,000 while Brown was fined $1,504. Both men were able to pay half their fine before they left the court. The charges were withdrawn from the other two persons.
