British Man and His Guatemalan Common-Law Wife Convicted Of Cannabis and Immigration Charges

BELIZE CITY, Tues. Dec. 22, 2009

Stuart Hall, 28, a British freelance writer, and his 21 year old Guatemalan common-law wife Sheyna Velez, 8 months pregnant, both pled guilty to possession of 18 grams of cannabis when they appeared yesterday in the #2 Magistrate’s Court. Senior Magistrate Dorothy Flowers fined each of them $800 and ordered them to pay forthwith. In default of payment they will serve 6 months.

When they left the #2 Magistrate’s Court their troubles were not over yet. They were taken to the #4 Magistrate’s Court where they were both charged with failure to comply with the conditions of their visitor’s permits and failure to produce their visitor’s permit. Magistrate Aretha Ford fined them $1,000 for each offence and ordered them to pay forthwith. In default of payment they will serve 1 year.

The couple was busted yesterday morning. A team of Police and Immigration officers went to Sea Breeze Guest House where they met Hall and Velez. The Police searched apartment #5 where the couple was staying but they did not find anything. But when the Police searched behind the backseat of Hall’s car that was parked in the yard they found 18.5 grams of cannabis.

Hall and Velez were asked by the Immigration officers to produce their visitor’s permit but they did not do so. Immigration records revealed that the couple entered Belize on September 11 via the sea port in Punta Gorda. They were given visitor’s permit allowing them to stay for 1 month in Belize. But when their permits expired on October 6 they did not renew them.

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