And good police work hasn't stopped at that foiled extortion attempt. According to police, 21 year-old Francisco Rodriguez, was with Edwin Flores at the time of their sting operation, and he was picked up by police.
Under questioning, he has reportedly confessed to setting the fire on Newtown Barracks which destroyed Kimmies Bar, Business Computer Systems, and Pandora's Café. Viewers may also remember that 21 year-old mother of 3 Jacqueline Arteaga perished in that fire.
The Officer Commanding Eastern Division's Criminal Investigations Branch explained how the details emerged about the Kimmie's Fire, and how Rodriguez is also linked to an armed robbery in Benque Viejo.
Supt. Hilberto Romero, O.C., C.I.B., Belize City
"Francisco Rodriguez was wanted in Benque for robbery with firearm, as a result he was taken there. He was charged and taken to court and he plead guilty and was sentenced to 5 years. Further investigation was conducted on Francisco Rodriguez. Statements were recorded which led police again to prepare a file. That's in regard to the death of one Jacqueline. This is the fire that occurred at Newtown Barracks where 5 building were destroyed and this female had died in the fire. Again we will charged Francisco Rodriguez for arson and for manslaughter regarding that fire."
Rodriguez is currently serving 5 years after pleading guilty to that robbery in Benque. He will also be charged at the earliest convenience for the crimes of arson and manslaughter for the Kimmie's Fire.
His family has claimed that he isn't responsible for the Kimmie's fire, and that police brutalized him into giving that confession.
Police intelligence is that Rodriguez may also a member of the MS-13 gang. Viewers may know that this gang started in Los Angeles, but has since spread to the other parts of the US, and it has embedded itself in Mexico, Honduras and other parts of Central America. It now seems that the gang is making a presence in Belize's underworld, and so today, we asked the police about their operations to counter this transnational threat:
Sr. Supt. Edward Broaster, Dep. O.C., Eastern Division
"The MS-13, the way they operate, they do a lot of extortion especially in particular to Central American immigrants who are working here in Belize, but the threat and retaliation does not occur in Belize; it occurs in El Salvador. Their operation is kind of sneaky as it pertains to extortion and so forth from the immigrants who are working here in Belize, but the repercussions occur in Salvador. So we have to really gather good intelligence and do quality investigation in order to deal with the MS-13 here in Belize."
Elvin Guiterrez, Hilberto Ruiz Sr., Jose Reyes, and Edwin Flores, were all charged with DISPLAY WITH GANG INSIGNAs for their MS-13 tattoos.
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