Immediately after their arraignment, police escorted the trio to the Belize Central Prison where they were remanded until July 22nd.

They were all unrepresented but before leaving the court room, Edwin Flowers asked the sitting Senior Magistrate, "How quick can we get a trial date for this matter?..."

The answer was inconclusive but he was told he can apply for bail at the high court.

]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69935 Now, during the raid on Saint Georges Caye police say they found a number of firearms, a total of 5 - but in court the trio was only charged or connected to one of those five firearms and an amount of weed and cocaine.

Here's an update on what we learned yesterday:

This is the 223 rifle, this is the 40 millimeter pistol outfitted as a MAC-10 with sound suppressor, this is the M4 Carbine, this the 9 millimeter pistol, and this is the 5.7 x 28 mm - not a very common weapon in Belize.

These bundles are the 2.5 pounds of marijuana and the 5 pounds of cocaine found on island #1. They were found along with the .223 rifle.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police "Searches were conducted on that island and the search led to the discovery of 12,000 grams of cannabis. It was parcelled off in a number of parcels and 2,300 grams of cocaine that was in two separate kilo-sized parcels and one 2-2-3 rifle."

"On the island police also found three individuals from the PIV area. Those persons and the drugs and firearm were brought to Belize City for processing and the three individuals have since been arrested and charged for drug trafficking and for keeping unlicensed firearms."

That means the three persons charged, Edwin Drive Flowers, Kenyon Dominguez, and Gaston Barrow will only be charged for these items.

Police searched two nearby islands where they found the other weapons - all high powered and deadly - and possibly used in recent murders.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police "We went and conducted searches on two other islands which we believe the PIV gang members have some connection to and on one of those islands we found one M4 carbine rifle, one assault 5.7 calibre rifle, one 22 rifle, one .40 calibre handgun and one 9mm handgun. So, a total of five firearms were found, three of which are rifles and two handguns. No one was on that island and so those items will be deposited as found property."

Found property is usually a signal that police and the suspects have struck a compromise - where they disclose the stash spot for weapons to have charges dropped. And, while 3 will be charged - reliable reports tell us there were 3 others on the island - two lookout men and a female who were released without charges.

We note that the volume of drugs disclosed yesterday - was less than the amount listed on the charge sheet in court today. ]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69936 So did that kind of trade off happen in this case - where guns were given up in exchange for the freedom of persons who could have faced charges? Today the Minister of Home Affairs said he knows nothing about that - but he knows the bust is historic:

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs "I'm not familiar with that trade off, you will perhaps have to ask the Commissioner that, I am aware that the police made perhaps one of the biggest busts of high powered firearms in the history of this country, I haven't seen such a cache of high powered firearms all together at once and so I want to commend the police on their bust yesterday, in addition to that, a substantial quantity of cannabis and a substantial quantity of cocaine as well. I think it deserves commending."

Reporter: "But did they collaborate with the Coast Guard in tracking down this island?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs "To my knowledge, no, but I believe they did have a captain who took them who might be attached to another department, I can't say if it's Coast Guard or not." ]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69937

Reporter: "Sir, I believe Drive and another LIU member was found on the island, they were charged, the PIV island. They were members of the LIU, so what happens? Do they get removed from the program?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs "That is the natural consequence and it pains me a lot as minister because we have been working a lot over the last few years with some of these young men, not all of them, who have indicated that they do not want to lead this life and I could tell you right off the bat that last year PIV was extremely quiet, was extremely dormant, they were complying, they were a part of the LIU, they were active in positive ways and so it is very disturbing but if you have been following the trends lately with the passing and the murder of Jose Matus, there was left a huge void. As you might have known, Mr Matus was a major supplier in Belize and so perhaps the temptation got the better of them and based on these high powered weapons it's quite possible that this new group is working along with cartel elements and so we have to look at that possibility because these guns just don't show up just like that. And as you know the cartels are always looking for someone to work with for the illegal supply of cannabis and it's been something I've been saying since day one when we got into office, this illegal trade of cannabis is killing so many Belizean young men because of turf wars that are happening so if you analyze the situation there seems to be some sort of a transfer of power when it comes to this particular trade and we will do our very best from the police department to nip it in the bud and to go after these bad actors because while last year you might have been complying, clearly this year you're not."]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69938 So with all this gang activity in dynamic ferment, will the Home Affairs Minister agree to extend the SOE? The commissioner has been pushing for it, but the political calculus is different. We asked Musa about it today:

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs "I believe the SOE expires next week Friday or so, those are discussions we are currently having at the Cabinet level and you will know soon enough whether that decision will be made but I will not disclose that at this time."

"If it is that you are going to be charging any of the individuals, for instance, the particular SOE, if you look at it, has had great success in that it snuffed out, it flushed out the actors from PIV that took all of their stash to an island and so we were able to flush them out and identify all of these high powered weapons and take them off the street saving many lives and so those individuals will be charged. The investigation in relation to the two murders, those are ongoing, whether there is an SOE or not, those investigations will continue."]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69939 But even though several gang members are still locked up under the SOE, maybe it should be extended to some police officers as well. That's because, as we reported yesterday, an officer was arrested and charged for raping a 15-year-old boy. 29-year-old Marcus Che is accused of sexually assaulting the minor at the police station. Today the media asked Minister Kareem Musa if he's sure the other officers attached to that precinct weren't also complicit.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs "That is part of the investigation that is being carried out because like you rightly said if it is happening at a police station then of course there might be other officers who have knowledge and that of course is certainly going to be a part of the investigation that is currently being carried out but I join the commissioner of police in expressing the fact that I am extremely disturbed by this kind of news coming out of Punta Gorda by a police officer. Again, the people of this country have trust and confidence in the police department to protect us, to serve us, to keep us safe, not to be doing these kinds of things and I know the argument can be made that we cannot control every single human being and what they are going to be doing but this certainly is a black eye on the department and this certainly needs to be dealt with very stiffly." ]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69940 Another divisive public issue that police have to deal with is Michael Usher's murder in The St Martin's area on Monday night.

The Compol spoke with us regarding the lack of urgency among his officers to rush the dying shooting victim to the hospital.

He said he would have acted differently. Today the minister of home affairs chimed in to say that perhaps the officers should have done the same.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs "I saw the video footage and yes I did feel a lot of empathy, a lot of sympathy for the victim, particularly because I knew him well. I knew Mr Usher well and to see him take his last breath like that on the ground a few minutes before the ambulance arrived it certainly was very painful as most Belizeans had to witness that take place and I know your follow up question is why didn't the police officers take Mr Usher to the hospital and I will agree with you to come extent. But as you know they are not trained medical professionals, they are not trained to deal with injured individuals like that in emergency training, that is best left to a doctor. I actually had a conversation with a doctor at the KHMH who deals in this type of accident, trauma, fire, gunshot wounds and he said the best case scenario is the police are not to touch the individual and so that is coming from a doctor that if an ambulance is nearby it is best to wait for an ambulance to come but again in a situation like that, it did take a little while for the ambulance to get there and so I think in a circumstance like that where the ambulance is not immediately around the corner, that perhaps the police department and police officers should have taken him to the hospital."

"We do have training in terms of first aid emergency response but not to the level of training them to be these types of doctors, they're not trained doctors, they're police officers. We have to understand, or EMTs, they're not EMTs, yes we do have first aid training for our police officers but at the same time we have to understand there's a separate department for fire, there's a separate department for doctors, who are properly trained, it takes years and years for them to be properly trained in order to deal with victims like this. The doctor I was speaking with this morning mentioned that one bad turn that you handle a particular victim could result in that person dying because of the gunshot and the way that the individual is placed, one bad handling of the individual could result in their death and so there are two sides to that argument but we have to look at it and certainly I think there is some middle ground that we can arrive at." ]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69941 A Toyota Hilux was stolen from the Western Regional Hospital last night around midnight. According to reports, a security guard saw a dark-skinned adult and a male minor leaving in the vehicle from the hospital. But apparently no one sounded the alarm until the driver of the truck showed up at 5:00 am - to see that it was missing.

Police were called this morning and they activated the GPS tracker, which showed its location in Flores, Guatemala. The Minister of Police did not have the full details, but he said that the cops acted quickly.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs "Very brief information I have, I don't have the full details of it, but I am aware that our police department acted swiftly with our counterparts in Guatemala and they will be getting that vehicle back."

Reporter: "Do you know how they managed to steal it from the hospital?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs "I don't know the particulars of the theft no."

Reports are that the Government has sent ownership documents to Guatemala and hope to get back the truck. ]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69942 The cannabis infused candies incident that occurred last year April sent the public and parents into an outrage after school children got hold of treats laced with cannabis.

The entire incident was traced back to the police evidence room where 38 year old exhibit keeper Mario Bustillos allegedly improperly disposed of the gummies without proper authority.

He was previously charged with 10 counts of negligent harm after 14 students, all of them minors, ended up at the KHMH. But, the charges against Bustillos were secretly withdrawn in October of 2023. And he was later served with a new charge of Willful Oppression.

Bustillos appeared in court today with his attorney Nazira Myles. Where he was served with 14 pages of disclosure including two CDs.

The magistrate adjourned the preliminary inquiry today until May 3rd so Bustillos attorney can access the contents of the second CD in order for the case to proceed. ]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69943 16 years after he killed mother of two Sandra Ruiz, Darrell Grant apologized to her family in court today.

Grant - who was already sentenced to life in prison - was back in court to get a fixed sentence. He told her family, quote, "I am sorry for what I did. I was young and immature... I am sorry to her family and for the pain to my family...I know I can't bring back Ms. Sandra life..."

Grant was Ruiz's neighbor when he broke into her house in the King's Park area in August of 2008. He sexually assaulted her and then bludgeoned her to death inside her home. He also badly injured one of her two young children.

In her victim impact statement, her daughter - who was 13 at the time of the murder stated that 15 years later she can still recall the smell of the iron from her mother's blood after they had to clean up.

Justice Nigel Pilgrim today told the now 37 year old Grant that he will not be eligible for parole until after serving 30 years which started on August 12, 2008.

He was initially sentenced to life imprisonment but the new legal standard is that those must be fixed sentences. ]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69944 Once a year the Belize Cancer Center welcomes a team of Oncology specialists to provide specialized assistance to patients. We got to meet the team today and learn a bit more about the magic they've worked over the past few days with these cancer patients. Jomarie Lanza reports.

A team of Doctors - oncology specialists - are in Belize this week working alongside the the Belize Cancer Center, Dangriga. They hail from Rochester New York, froma volunteer group named Intervol. They bring a wide range of knowledge and expertise, assisting patients to get the best of treatment options and advice.

The team is currently in Belize City doing their rounds and today we stopped in at the center to meet them and discuss how exactly this partnership and medical mission began.

Dr Saad Jamshed, InterVol "It dates back to many many years, InterVol is one of the volunteer organizations we have in Rochester regional health and we have been coming here doing different medical camps since late 2000. I got involved in coming to the cancer center in 2018. There was a little bit of a gap during Covid because traveling was difficult but coming here and seeing patients has been very rewarding. The team here does a phenomenal job of providing care to patients. It is difficult we see the challenges patients face day in and day out. They experience through different barriers that they have all the way from screening being able to conduct their testing and being able to afford all the care that they need and to be able to be a cancer survivor takes a lot both not only in the patient but in the family and multiple stressors so the team does a mi r job over here providing care locally cause I can imagine that it will be difficult to provide all that care of here in Belize itself without the cancer center and Dr Grant and sister Dellone."

Dr Roxana Vlad Vonica, InterVol "And he convinced us to come cause I specialize in prostate cancer and Dr Kirtani specializes in breast cancer and we see a lot of cases here so I think it is a need."

Dr Vatsala Govind Kirtani, InterVol "I will say something I found actually very encouraging is that every patient that I've seen is actually very involved with their healthcare they know a lot about themselves they know about their medication and have a good and reliable history and I think that involvement of community for themselves is the first step and they have it down. So that is great and I think we can build from there at this point."

Although a week might not seem like enough for this team to complete their work here in Belize, CEO Pascascio says that they're on an intensive schedule:

Dellone Pascascio, CEO, Belize Cancer Center "They see both oncology patients and they see patients with hematologic diseases. Much of what we have seen is there are patients with sickle cell, a number of sickle cell patients and sickle cell of course is a hematologic condition. So far I would say that over the last three days we probably have seen about 10-12 patients with sickle cell. Either sickle cell being treated or active sickle cell disease and we are expecting to continue to follow those patients and then we have seen a sprinkle of patients with prostate cancer patients with breast cancer and one patient I think who has cervical cancer."

"We've been very very fortunate. The value that they bring in terms of their services and expertise to us is incalculable. Most of these patients would have to wait and many of the subject matter expertise that they provided in consultation is something we could not duplicate had they not been here with us."

President of the organization Kim Simplis Barrow says that this partnership serves as a testament to the cancer center's commitment to exceed barriers to source the best care for patients.

Kim Simplis Barrow, President, Belize Cancer Society "For us it's so very important to have a collaboration and partnership with the Belize Cancer center Dangriga and with InterVol. It's such a great collaboration and partnership. Today I think we are seeing about 21 patients just here at the center. They have been here for over the past 4 days and so in Dangriga they were seeing patients as well. It is an opportunity that perhaps some of our Belizeans would not have had and it is always good to get a second opinion and to have a dialogue with professional oncologists."

The specialists concluded clinics today and will leave on Saturday. ]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69945 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69946 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69947 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69948 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69949 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69950 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69951 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=69952 Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000