Three Men Charged With Aggravated Burglary at Sandhill Gas Station

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Feb. 24, 2010

Three men were charged with aggravated burglary and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary when they appeared in the #1 Magistrate’s Court on Monday, February 22. They are Ryan Barnett, 23; Andy Williams, 25; and Andrew Baptist, 23. They pled not guilty to the charges. Chief Magistrate Margaret McKenzie explained to them that the Court could not offer them bail because of the nature of the offences. She remanded them into custody until April 19.

The incident occurred on Thursday, February 18 at the Sandhill Gas Station, located at Mile 16 on the Northern Highway. Eliseo Moralez, 20, the Manager of Sandhill Gas Station, reported to the Police that a man entered the gas station and purchased one pack of Bambu. Moralez said the man then took out a black pistol and put it to the head of his brother, Elias Moralez. Eliseo said the man stole $350 from Elias then the man ordered him, who was behind the counter, to open the door.

Eliseo said he complied and the gunman went behind the counter and stole $800 from the cash register. According to Eliseo, the gunman then went to the back of the gas station where the dwelling quarters of his family is located and where his family was tied. Eliseo said the culprits stole $3,000 from a drawer in the bedroom. The culprits also stole assorted liquor, one carton of cigarettes and 3 phones, 2 of them cell phones.

The Police reported that when they detained the three defendants on Friday, February 19, they recovered $668.15, some of the liquor and cigarettes and one of the cell phones.

| | | | | |