Tonight, the well-known police officer, Corporal Darrell "Tutsi" Usher, is in police custody awaiting an arraignment in the magistrate's court. Police say that he ran away from them and threw away 20 pounds of weed, which they have since recovered.
According to the cops, at around 9:15 on last Friday night, they spotted a man, later identified as "Tutsi" Usher, coming out a bushy yard on Faber's Road Extension. They say that he then drove off, and they followed him, pulled him over, and told him that they would conduct a search on him.
Police say that he asked them to allow him to park the vehicle on the side of the road, which they agreed, but they say that he sped off down the road. They set chase after him, and he led them to an area known as the "Dike". The cops jumped out when he stopped, and they say that he left both his driver's side door and passenger side door open, and they saw him running toward the creek with a bag. He allegedly escaped from them, but they searched the area and found the bag which they saw Tutsi with. It was found floating in the creek.
His vehicle and this bag were transported to the nearest police station, and when they searched them both, they found 3 brown parcels in the bag. It contained a total of 20 pounds and 10 ounces of weed. They then issued a warrant for his arrest, and today, Usher handed himself into police with his attorney, and he has since been charged. There was a bit of confusion with the charge sheet, so he couldn't be arraigned today. We got a chance to speak to his attorney about the predicament he now finds himself in. Here's what he told us:
Richard "Dickie" Bradley, Attorney for Darrell Usher
"The police have ask Darrell Usher to report to the Raccoon Street Police Station this morning at 8:30 in order to be processed and charged which has happened and he was brought over to the magistrate court so that the matter could be taken before a magistrate so he can be arraigned and the situation is that there was some minor delays in terms of what is referred to as the charge sheet, with the actual information thereon. As a consequence he could not get in front of a magistrate this evening. So they will bring him back tomorrow for him to be arraigned in relation to a charge that he is engaged in trying to traffic 9,300 and odd grams of Marijuana. This was not found on him."
"The information is based on someone saying that they saw him in the area in the vicinity. Strangely enough and this is the second time today that the police have given charge sheets, it's actually an information and complaint form, but they are not complying by the rules laid down by the chief justice in relation to the proper procedures. When you charge a person, you are to give him along with the charge sheet what is referred to as a summary of the facts so that the person has a clear idea what it is being alleged against him. He has seen no such thing and no copy had been provided along with the charge sheet. Drugs are found in a vehicle said to be his. Drugs were found in a vehicle in which the police have inform him that when they search the vehicle they found a light bill in his name and found some other bill in his name. But it's not that they found him with the drugs in there. In fact when the facts become available and I don't want to jump the proceedings and start to go that route there, but it is not one of those cases where you can say the officer has been caught red-handed with drugs. So really in fairness to him an allegation is that he left a vehicle and I don't know if nearby or far away drugs were found and the allegation is that well, it must be connected to him. That is basically what you are looking at at this stage."
Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"Is he disputing that the vehicle is his sir?"
Richard "Dickie" Bradley, Attorney for Darrell Usher
"No, he has no time inform me 'boss they are wasting their time, the vehicle is not for me.' But he was not found in the vehicle. They are claiming he left the vehicle and that the drugs were not found in the vehicle either. That one is not in dispute. So you know that he is one of the tough cops on the streets of Belize City. No doubt he has lots of enemies and so I guess that will probably be a factor in how it is drugs could be found either in the vehicle or around the vehicle or in the vicinity of the vehicle."
Darrell "Tutsi" Usher will be arraigned tomorrow, and we'll have the latest on the story then.
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