Four Men, Including Minors, Charged After Coast Guard Ammunition Seizure

Four men including two minors were arraigned in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court yesterday after they were found with illegal ammunition on a sea vessel.  The arrest of the four followed a high-speed chase with the Belize Coast Guard on Tuesday night at around nine o’clock in the area of Bacalar Chico.  According to Captain Gregory Soberanis, Deputy Commander of the Coast Guard, the men were pursued after they were observed speeding up in the waters and turning off the lights from their vessel.  The vessel was eventually intercepted and searched where unlicensed ammunition was found.

The men charged are 27-year-old, Brayan Anthony Correa; 20-year-old, Brandon Travis Brown, and 18-year-old, Juan Carlos Blanco, along with a 17-year-old minor.  During the arraignment, Brown, the son of a police corporal, took ownership of the single .223 round, while Blanco, an 18-year-old fisherman, claimed responsibility for the 46 rounds of 9mm ammunition.  Due to their guilty pleas, the charges were withdrawn against Correa and the minor.  Magistrate Black emphasized the severity of the offense, stating that each bullet could be equated to a life, and the ammunition posed a serious threat if it had made its way onto the streets. Despite their status as first-time offenders who saved the court time by pleading guilty, the Magistrate imposed substantial fines.  Blanco was fined $5,000 for the 46 rounds, with an order to pay half, $2,500, immediately and the remainder by November 28. Failure to pay will result in a one-year prison sentence.  Brandon Travis Brown was fined $1,505 for the single round, ordered to pay $500 forthwith and the balance by October 31, or face one year in prison.  Both men were able to make their initial payments and were released. No firearms were found during the operation, leading investigators to believe they may have been thrown overboard during the chase.