7 News Belize

Gang Boss Says Police Abducted Him
posted (August 6, 2012)
On Friday night we told you about gang warfare that had erupted in Belize City - reportedly between the Ghost Town and Back-A-Town Crews.

There were shots fired - at close range and in broad daylight, but reportedly no one was hurt.

And then on Friday night a police surveillance vehicle was reportedly shot in ghost Town turf. We say reportedly because though that is the information that has come to us from multiple sources, the police press officer told us he knows nothing of it.

It is important because it set the stage for what the boss of Ghost Town says was a police abduction - which he claims would have been an execution if his wife hadn't gotten involved.

It's a tall claim, but from where he sat on Saturday night, not an exaggerated one. He reports being whisked off in an unmarked heavily tinted Land Cruiser with private plates operated by police officers known to him.

We got the first part of the story from his wife, who we found outside the Ladyville police station this morning. She had been camped there for almost 24 hours straight - right through the night - to make sure that her husband wasn't whisked off again.

Here's their story:..

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"We got a knock on the door after 10pm minutes to 11. It was the police, my husband went outside to open the door - I was getting clothed. I heard the keys and after that silence. When I ran out there the GSU had practically stuff him in a Land cruiser - only his feet was out."

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"The man said to open the grill door. I put the key in and open the grill door, put my hand at the back of my head and two other police just snatch me; one in a sleeper and 2 grab my feet and they ran with me to the vehicle. I was trying to fight them but I was sleepy, when I fully awoke I was at the vehicle door - they were trying to pull me inside the vehicle. The next police went around and just drag me inside."

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"That was their game as to not met anyone see who had taken him from the house."

Jules Vasquez
"If she hadn't seen that?"

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"I think that no one would have seen me anymore boss. Nobody would have seen me anymore. The news would have been that someone kidnaped me and I gone."

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"They took him to the area of Bakatown behind the civic center, they came out and told me that I am not supposed to follow them."

Jules Vasquez
"Now, in that time that's a danger zone."

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"That's a danger zone, right. So they told me that I am not supposed to follow them. I got someone else to follow them in another vehicle."

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"The situation inside the vehicle was just 'keep my head down, don't look at anyone and just stay. Everyone in the back seat elbowed me in my back telling me to keep my head down."

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"They came up to the Haulover bridge area - the second vehicle chased back that vehicle, so nobody couldn't follow him."

Jules Vasquez
"What were your concerns as you sat in the vehicle?"

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"My concern was that they're going to kill me because that's all they are telling me. Before they took me they threaten me and told me that as they get the order they're going to cut my throat. That's all they were telling me in the truck."

Jules Vasquez
"As specific as that?"

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"They told me 'Memba I told you I was going to cut your throat' and I said yes boss and he said 'well tonight is the night.'"

Jules Vasquez
"Are they asking for anything specific at this time?"

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"Nothing specific, just that they say that I am setting up men to shoot after their policemen. I don't know nothing about that."

Jules Vasquez
"You told me earlier that they took you onto airport road."

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"The old airport road that you use to go through first to the airport - at the end."

Jules Vasquez
"What was going through your mind at that time?"

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"They will kill me. Nothing less. First time I say my prayers to the father, first time Jules in my life like that to tell him accept me. I know I did a lot of wrong, but just accept that I am coming to you now - serious boss."

Jules Vasquez
"After 3 hours of driving around you said that you were eventually taken to a police station."

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"Yea."

Jules Vasquez
"Which station was that?"

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"Ladyville police station."

Jules Vasquez
"Now, why were you taken to Ladyville when if you are being investigated for something in Belize City, it would normally be Queen Street."

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"I don't know. I have never been to Ladyville police station, never yet in my life."

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"At 7:45am I got a call from Ladyville and they said that he is there. But I had already came here like after 1am in the morning and they said that he wasn't here. When I came here about 9am the officer said that they had brought him in after 3 the morning. So with that time span I don't know where he was at from since 10pm to 3am when they actually sign him into a station."

"They are denying him the right to speak to an attorney, so the attorney said it was best for me to stay at the station and if they move him from the station then I am supposed to inform him, so I've been here the entire time."

Jules Vasquez
"Why? Are you afraid they will......"

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"I am definitely afraid because basically what they did at our house was basically they kidnap him from there. It was just by chance I reach outside to see what was going on."

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"Never yet I feel threaten like this. Never yet in my life. I was denied everything. No one didn't know where I was and somebody had told me that they were going to come for me last night at 1am, so I let my wife sleep out there. She sleeps out there, they didn't want her to be on the street, they put her on the highway. I was denied everything."

Jules Vasquez
"You stayed out here all night?"

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"All night."

Jules Vasquez
"But you slept?"

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"No, I had somebody with me and we took shifts."

Jules Vasquez
"Just to make sure that he is slipped out of here."

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"Right."

Jules Vasquez
"Are you afraid that he may be executed by the state?"

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"I am definitely afraid."

Jules Vasquez
"I know he's been detained probably in his life dozens, if not hundreds of times."

Julia Anthony, wife of Roger Anthony
"But this one is the scariest one because normally when they took him to Queen Street police station - we are quite satisfied with that."

Jules Vasquez
"Do you think that they wanted to kill you?"

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"Yes, I am telling you. I was saved just because of a couple reactions from my wife otherwise you wouldn't see me no more. If it happens I just want the public to know that these people have their own squad and if that's what they want to deal with then that's their thing. All I want them to understand is that all of us will die also. All of us will die, it doesn't matter how old we get, we will still die."

Jules Vasquez
"So if they took you down that airport road and off you...."

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"They will still carry on - nothing will change. It will just get worse."

Going back to the hostilities that started on Friday, two men who police say fired shots at a residence are in jail after they were taken to the Magistrate's Court. Police also recovered a deadly firearm in the Ghost Town territory.

According to police, 26 year-old Brandon "Battery" Smith, and 20 year-old Wilbur Gentle went to the Corner of Vernon and Sibun Street and fired gunshots in the area, but were arrested shortly after that.

Police charged both men with discharging a firearm in public, and they were arraigned before Magistrate Dale Cayetano today. Both men pleaded not guilty to the charge, but because it is a firearms offence, Magistrate Cayetano couldn't grant them bail. They were remanded to prison until September 24.

In related news, on Sunday at around 1 a.m., a team from the Gang Suppression Unit conducted a search at a construction site on Vernon Street, which is near to the Police Booth in the Mayflower area.

As a result, the officers recovered a .22 caliber automatic firearm with the serial numbers removed. The firearm was retrieved and secured at the police department's exhibit room. No one was in the area at the time.

So what's causing all the beef and gang warfare? That's what we asked Ghost Town Boss Roger Anthony today:..

Voice of: Roger Anthony
"No big thing is jumping off with Ghostown. They know exactly what's going but they pretend not to know but they know what is going on. They should jump on us and say that we are this and that. Everybody is at war with one another. The guys at Bakatown have a lot of beef - they had shooting the other day at the club where they and another group was involved in. It's not us, they are bloods and bloods but they are still at war."

"They just want to put it as that we are Crips and that we are closer to them and we have war with them from day one - from the 90s. We and the other still talk to each other. They just want to put things on us."

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