If you are planning to spend the Easter weekend shopping in Chetumal you might want to leave your expensive jewelry and other valuables either at home, or at your hotel. That is what one city woman advises Belizeans to do after she was held up this weekend in the Sam's Club parking lot. Therese Diego Blease left for Chetumal on Saturday to celebrate a friend's birthday. But her friend had an emergency and had to rush back to Belize City. Blease went along with her. They decided to go shopping at Sam's Club before traveling back and that is when Blease was held up at knife point. Here is her frightening story.
Therese Diego Blease, Robbed at Sam's Club Chetumal
"We decided to go to Sam's just to do some shopping before coming back home. When we got to Sam's, my co-worker and I, it was only two of us in the vehicle, we walked in. from the onset of walking in, we sort of got a glimpse of the guy, but he was just standing there and he had like a motorcycle helmet, so it was a very big helmet over his head. I just glanced at him, she saw him as well. We went in, we did the shopping, and we came back out. When we came back out, we pushed the cart to the vehicle and we packed the truck. I had my back basically turned to him the whole time so he had the opportunity then, but I'm assuming because it was both of us he didn't want to take the chance. As soon as we finished packing, she told me to just take the cart back to the cart area which I did. As soon as I turned around, this guy was right up in my 
face and I screamed, but I screamed just by the thought of someone being immediately behind you. I really wasn't sure what was happening, and when I screamed, he said 'callate su boca' I know a little bit of Spanish so I knew that meant 'shut your mouth'. so I just kept quiet, put my hands up in the air and my first thought was to look around to see if there was any vehicles or anything because I wasn't sure if I was being kidnapped or what was happening, I really wasn't sure. When I noticed there was no vehicles, and I looked down and he approached a bit closer, that's when I saw the knife at my side. It was literally touching my clothes, so I could see it. He just simply pulled the chain off my neck and in a matter of seconds he was gone. I always see it on the news here in Belize of people getting robbed and even in the U.S. and I said I always recall the authorities, local police have always said it, 'give them what they want, your life is worth more'. At that point I just simply gave up, and the next thought for me was my daughter at home. She was my next thought and I said 'I have to get through this for her' and so I decided to just surrender. My life is more important than my jewelry, than anything that I had. He could have taken anything, I am just so grateful that he spared my life and I was not physically hurt. I am seriously dramatized, I never expected that would happen."
Blease told us that no one was in the area at the time. She also did not report it because she felt nothing could be done for her since she was a Belizean. Blease urges everyone traveling to Chetumal this weekend to leave all expensive jewelry at home or at the hotel, to be vigilant and to stay in groups. Now this is not the first time we have heard reports of Belizeans being robbed in Chetumal. Several other regular visitors to Chet have reported that their purses have been cut while shopping in Sam's Club.
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