Mexican gets royal treatment from Corozal Magistrate!

Corozal Town, March 1st, 2011

By Carmelita Perez

A Mexican soldier who Corozal Police say was busted with counterfeit currency and has pleaded guilty to having an unlicensed firearm and ammunition seems to be getting the royal treatment, which has left many in the legal profession dazzled.

On Thursday last week, Mexican soldier Jose Luis Beltran was detained in the Corozal Free Zone by Police after a $100US bill he used to pay for purchases turned out to be counterfeit. During the detention he was searched and found with an unlicensed .25 calibre pistol and nine live rounds.

On Friday, Beltran appeared in the Corozal Magistrate’s Court and pleaded guilty to the weapons charge and was sentenced to four years at the Hattieville prison, two years for the firearm and two years for the ammunition.  But Beltran didn’t even spend a day in prison because barely four hours behind bars he was transported back to Corozal, when an unknown person allegedly lodged an appeal on his behalf. After an appearance before Magistrate Clive Lino that same day, the appeal was upheld and Beltran was set scotch free on bail.

While Magistrate Lino approved Beltran’s bond, Corozal Police were not willing to let him go that easy, and immediately detained him once more, then charged him for the possession of 14 U.S. $100 counterfeit notes.

Beltran went once more before Magistrate Lino in the morning and pleaded guilty to the counterfeit charge. The case was then adjourned for the afternoon.  When it resumed, to everyone’s surprise despite the fact that he pleaded guilty, Magistrate Lino threw out the case based on a lack of evidence.

The matter has baffled those in the legal community and has left many other puzzled.  We understand that the Director of Public Prosecutions doesn’t quite agree with the Court’s ruling, and has filed for judicial review.

Just for context, we recall the case of casino owner George Hardy and three security officers who were detained by Mexican border officials in August of 2008. They certainly were given no special treatment by our Mexican counterparts, and had to spend their years in prison.

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