For the past two nights, we've been reporting on the robbery at the Tropical Education Centre, which left 2 Canadian tourists anxious to leave the country, and a man injured in the hospital after the thieves shot him for his pickup, which they used to flee the scene. Well today, the alleged gunman went to court.

He's 21 year-old Adolphus Palacio Jr., a resident of Mahogany Heights Village, and he's at the Belize Central Prison tonight. He was taken before the Magistrate Court this evening with his arm heavily bandaged, the injury he allegedly suffered after he shot 52 year-old Jorge Lopez and tried to kill him for his vehicle.

That's also another loose end that police tied up. They found Lopez's truck this morning in Mahogany Heights base don information passed to them by a concerned member of the public. It was found abandoned and parked in a wooded area.

Palacio who was under police guard at the KHMH, while his chop wound was being treated, was released into the custody of investigators. They moved swiftly to charge him with 2 counts of aggravated assault, 2 counts of robbery, and 2 counts of conspiracy to commit robbery.

He was arraigned before Magistrate Deborah Rogers this evening, and he pleaded not guilty to the charges. But, because it is a firearm offence, he could not be granted bail. Palacio Jr. was remanded into custody until April 12.

As we reported, Canadians retirees Steven Temple and Cynthia Fredrick were staying at the Belize Zoo's Tropical Education Centre. Fredrick had only just exited their room, and while she was taking a photograph of a crocodile, 2 men snuck up on her and forced her to open her door at gunpoint. Fredrick and Temple were then locked inside their bathroom, and the thieves used that opportunity to go through their belongings and steal 2 cellular phones and 2 cameras.

They then snuck out of the Centre's property through the back gate, and that's when they came upon Lopez. He stopped for these 2 men because he thought that they needed help. He was rewarded for his kindness with a bullet to the back. The gunman then pointed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger 3 more times, but the gun jammed. He used that distraction to grab a machete which he keeps in the truck. He swung it at his shooter and chopped him on the arm.

The other man picked up a rock and tried to bash Lopez over the head, but he put his arm in the way to deflect the blow. That man instructed the injured gunman to shoot him in the head, but instead he jumped into the vehicle. Both men got in and drove off leaving Lopez on the road where he had fallen.

Police say that Adolphus Palacio Jr. is the main suspect in the attack on Lopez, and he will be investigated for attempted murder and robbery for the theft of the vehicle.