Belize City Man Fined for Threatening to Burn Down Woman’s Home With Family Inside

A Belize City man was fined in the Magistrate’s Court after pleading guilty to threatening to burn down a woman’s home while she and her children were inside.  Jonathan Bennett appeared before the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on a charge of threat to damage to property in relation to an incident involving 37-year-old Rosellie Cacho, a hair braider from the Jane Usher Boulevard area.  Bennett pleaded guilty to the charge when it was read to him in court.  The allegation is that on January 26, on Jane Usher Boulevard, Bennett threatened Cacho that he would burn down her house with her and her children inside, a threat that caused the complainant to fear that it would be carried out.  According to the report, the incident occurred shortly after 5:00 p.m. when Cacho arrived home and saw a man with long hair dressed in camouflage approaching her property while holding a machete. She reported that the man made chopping motions toward her, causing her to run inside her home with her children.  Cacho told police that the man, whom she recognized as the nephew of a neighbor, continued shouting threats and at one point was seen holding a gallon container of kerosene near the house. She also reported seeing him throw coconuts onto the house.  Fortunately, a police mobile arrived in the area shortly after, and officers detained Bennett before any damage was done.  During sentencing, the Senior Magistrate considered both aggravating and mitigating factors. While the court noted that Bennett had a previous conviction for threatening words, consideration was also given to his early guilty plea.  The magistrate initially set a starting point of one thousand dollars, which was reduced by three hundred dollars due to the guilty plea.  Bennett was ultimately fined seven hundred dollars plus five dollars cost of court. He has until April 30 to pay the fine, in default of which he will serve six months imprisonment.  Bennett also appeared in court earlier the same day on a separate charge of aggravated assault involving the same complainant. He pleaded not guilty to that charge and is currently out on bail. He is scheduled to return to court on July 8.