7 News Belize

Five Years For One Round
posted (February 20, 2012)
47 year-old Anthony Stevens, also known as Anthony Lopez or "Razzle Dazzle", will spend 5 years in jail for possession of a single round of ammunition.

On February 17 at around 3:30 p.m., Stevens, a construction worker of Amara Avenue, was spotted by a police officer on motorcycle patrol on Euphrates Avenue. The officer said that Stevens immediately acted suspiciously by trying to run away, so he set chase.

When the officer caught Stevens, he searched him and found a single round of 16 gauge ammunition in his pocket.

In court today, Stevens pleaded guilty to the charge saying that he didn't want to waste the court's time. In his defense, he said that he found the CARTRIDGE, and that he had intentions of handing it in. He also said that the officer didn't give him a chance to explain, and that he doesn't own a gun.

Magistrate Robert Ordonez explained to Stevens that in the matters of firearms offenses, the court doesn't have any ability to use discretion in terms of sentencing. As a result, Magistrate Ordonez sentenced him to 5 years imprisonment.


Cops: Gilharry Grew Grass


20 year-old Jason Gilharry, A UB student of Corozalito Village, has been accused by police of cultivating 2,300 marijuana plants.

Gilharry was arraigned in the courtroom of the Senior Magistrate, Sharon Frazer, today. He has to answer to 2 counts of unlawful cultivation of marijuana plants, 1 for 2000 and the other count for an additional 300.

According to police, acting upon intelligence gathered, on February 19, the Anti-Drug Unit conducted a search in an open area in the Corozalito Village on the old Northern Highway. They found two lots: one area with 2000 plants and a second area with 300 more.

Police also say that they discovered Gilharry in the area at the time of the search, and as a result, he was arrested and charged.

Gilharry pleaded not guilty to charges, and he was granted bail by Senior Magistrate Frazer after his Attorney, Arthur Saldivar, made submissions that he is a student seeking higher learning, and that he has no history to suggest that the allegation against him is solid.

His bail came in the amount of $8,000 plus two sureties. He is to return to court on April 17.


Shiney Acquitted Of GSU Charge


Last week, we told you about the acquittal of Gerald "Shiney" Tillett in the courtroom of Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer for an alleged confrontation with members of the Gang Suppression Unit a year ago.

Well, He was again acquitted today of a charge made by an officer of the GSU. This one is of note because it was allegedly committed on August 26, 2011, that fateful Friday evening when the GSU rained down upon George Street's base.

His acquittal is very significant when placed into context. The GSU charged Tillett for issuing a death threat against one of their officers, Elmer Nah. They also charged Carlos "Zimbab" Abraham with using obscene language, for which he was acquitted on December 30 of last year.

GSU also said that one of the residents threw a projectile at their vehicle. The police department used all these alleged occurrences, and others, as reasons why GSU had to use necessary force to subdue the residents of George Street.

When the matter was called up again before Magistrate Robert Ordonez, Officer Nah did not show up to testify, and as a result, Magistrate Ordonez dismissed the charge. This is the second charge brought against Shiney, which did not stick.

Tillett was represented by attorney Kareem Musa.


Governing Body Investigates Belize Track And Field


With all the political fanfare and controversy of last week Friday, we shorted you a story, even though the newscast was lengthy.

That story involves the Belize Amateur Athletic Association or BAAA as it is better known.

From as early as September of last year, the BAAA had been having some internal turmoil at the executive level of management.

The duly elected President, Ian Gray, was at odds with 6 members of the committee of management, whom he suspended for 6 months.

This suspension came after he was accused of financial misconduct, usurping the authority of the members and making decisions without their notice or approval. They then sought to remove Grey from office.

The dispute caught the attention of the International Association of Athletics Federation, which governs athletics in this region.

As a result, representatives of the IAAF came to Belize last week, and they met with members of the BAAA for a first-hand accounting of the situation.

On Friday, 7News caught up with IAAF Representative, Neville Teddy McCook, before he left Belize to report back to headquarters.

Here's what he had to say on those proceedings:

Neville Teddy McCook - Representative, IAAF
"There has been a slight problem in the operations of the Belize Amateur Athletic Association, and we are representing the IAAF to see how best we can solve this problem. We met with all parties concerned. We have taken the necessary information, and we will report this to the IAAF, who will make adjudication on the matter. If there are problems with individual members, they have to work that out themselves. What we have done here is that we have had discussions with the duly elected president and other members of the duly elected association that was elected in 2010. We are satisfied with the information that we have had, which we will forward to Monaco."

When we asked for confirmation of some of on the reports to the media, McCook told us that he was not in a position to get into detail with them.


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