On Wednesday, 7News told you about 22 year-old Ambrose Joseph, 21 year-old Lionel Vasquez, and 22 year-old Kendale Ramirez who were all reportedly caught in the act of burglarizing a home in Placencia.
Well, police have since charged Ramirez with burglary, since the owner of the items pointed him out as the person she saw running away with her items. They charged Joseph and Vasquez with conspiracy to commit burglary since they were reportedly caught in the general area where the items were recovered.
But, although their apprehension is the result of police and the community working together, the family of Joseph and Vasquez is upset because they believe that police are pinning this burglary on these 2 who allegedly had nothing to do with it.
We spoke to Vasquez's mother today, who told us that the two are being wrongfully accused. Here's how she described why:
Juliana Casimiro - Mother of Lionel Vasquez
"When I got to Placencia, they already locked my nephew and my son down. So I asked the police for permission so that I could talk with them. So they talked with me. My son told me, 'Mommy, don't worry about anything because whatever happened, I have nothing to do with that.' And that's they same thing that my nephew said, 'Auntie, don't worry about this because whatever happened, we can't give any account of that. We were at the beach cutting coconuts because the sea was dark, we could dive for crab. So, we ended up cutting coconut so that we could have sold. While were at the beach, the owner of the laptop was at the beach at the same time, sitting down beside us while we were cutting these coconuts. Our next friend must have gone behind our backs. We can't give account of that.' That's what the boys told me. 'He must have gone and steal that laptop, and, Mom, the American lady already came and told the police to let us go because we have nothing to do with this. She saw who went to her house, and she saw the person who ran away was a tall person. That's what the lady said.'"
Daniel Ortiz
"Let me stop you right there, Ma'am. Did you ever speak to this lady, the owner of the laptop?"
Juliana Casimiro
"No, but my 2 nieces was detained at that same time, and they were present when the lady went there and told the police to let the boys go."
Daniel Ortiz
"The police are saying that your son is a known suspect, a known person of interest, and as a result, they suspected him of this. How do you defend your son against that? You weren't there. How you defend against that?"
Juliana Casimirio
"Well, I wasn't there, but I'm saying that they have a thing against him because sometimes he isn't at Seine Bight, and when things happened, they are still calling his name. So that's the reason that I always say that they must have something against him."
As we reported, it happened on Monday afternoon in the Maya beach area of Placencia where a pair of homeowners was relaxing.
A few minutes later the lady of the house turned around and reportedly saw Ramirez jumping off her veranda with her laptop computer under his arm. Her husband set chase through the bush and the community watch was activated.
The police were notified and they caught Ramirez who led them to the stolen laptop, an ipod, and a cell phone, which all belong to the lady.
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