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And today, Marco Vidal was at court. But he wasn't there for all the Peck fanfare. He was there to attend his wife's ceremony where she was elevated to Senior Counsel Status. After the ceremony, we tried to get some answers from Vidal, but he told us that now is not the right time to comment because the case is still before the court:

Marco Vidal, Commander of GSU
"I will not comment until after the case is concluded."

Daniel Ortiz
"We just want to ask you a question about the situation with the outcry from the public and the police officers."

Marco Vidal, Commander of GSU
"Like I said I will not comment, this matter is before the court and when its concluded the media will be hearing from me then."

Daniel Ortiz
"When can we expect that sir?"

Marco Vidal, Commander of GSU
"As soon as it is concluded."

This evening, the Director of Public Prosecution's issued a very detailed statement this evening in relation to the Peck case.

DPP Vidal says:
"It is the position of the Office of the DPP that Gino Peck committed a criminal act. Section 33 of the Firearms Act which exempts police officers from the general requirements of the Act, in our respectful view, did not apply in this case. This case was not about an officer being assigned ammunition and simply taking it home at the end of his daily tour. This case was about an officer stockpiling ammunition; an officer being assigned resources of the State, a decade and a half before, ceasing to use it in the performance of his duties and then storing it; an officer finding prohibited ammunition and instead of following procedure, taking it home and stashing it. This is not conduct that we think falls within the parameters of the exemption contained in the Firearms Act. It is a criminal act and the fact that several senior officers have come out to say that they are also guilty of that criminal act, makes it no less offensive. We came to the view, after reviewing the evidence, that justice required that Gino Peck face a trial for the offences which we say he committed. He faced that trial and he was convicted."

And addressing the comments of the Commissioner of Police, and the unprecedented statement from the Department announcing the support for Corporal Peck, Vidal says,
"I read with great dismay the Release of the Commissioner of Police, backed by the Minister of Police, in which it was suggested that this Office acted improperly in pursuing criminal charges in accordance with its mandate and that this matter could have been dealt with through disciplinary action. This Commissioner of Police was not the Office holder at the time and perhaps is not fully aware of the events which led to the search, detention, charge and eventual prosecution of Gino Peck. I would simply point out, that there has been no communication between this Commissioner and this Office in relation to the matter of Gino Peck, which arose in January of 2012, but for which the trial itself only commenced late last year, 2013. Further, there was no attempt made, at any point during that period, to put Gino Peck on any disciplinary charge. It appears to us that as far as the High Command of the Police Department is concerned, criminal acts, if committed by police officers, are deserving of less condemnation. This is not the view of the persons charged with the prosecution of crime and we would invite the Commissioner and his officers to rethink that position."

And for good measure, Vidal also gave an update on the Reynaldo Verde. She say quote, "
In relation to the incident involving Reynaldo Verde, we have been trying, from time immemorial, to get officers to investigate before laying charges. It is a cause of great surprise that while there is still reluctance on the part of the police to do so in major cases, 3 Senior Police Officers of the Belize Police Department immediately sprang into action on behalf of Verde. We are not to be interpreted as suggesting that they were wrong to investigate, but we would just like the same enthusiasm and quest for "fairness" to attend ALL of the matters which pass through the hands of the Police." End Quote.

Vidal also assures that her office continues to look into the Verde case. Her statement ends by saying that there are some provision in the Firearms Act that are a cause for concern with her and those working in her office, and that she welcomes opportunities to meet with interested parties to discuss them and the way forward.