Gun Case Nears Conclusion After Three-Year Delay

After three years, an unlicensed guns and ammunition case that stemmed from a police raid in Orange Walk is coming to a head. Twenty-four-year-old Stephanie Marie Patten Cima and 21-year-old Mexican national Misael Contreras Varela appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court today for the continuation before Chief Magistrate Deborah Rogers. The case dates back to June 15, 2022, when Cima, Varela, 24-year-old Joshua Brandon Hall, and 22-year-old Alden Lara were all charged. At the start of the police investigation, Hall and Lara took responsibility for the illegal items. Lara has since been convicted and is currently serving a prison sentence, while Hall has absconded. Today, attorney Dickie Bradley, who represents Cima, submitted a no-case submission on the grounds that the prosecution has insufficient evidence against this client. Bradley told Love News that the matter could wrap up as early as next week. 

Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney: “So you have a trial dragging on, even though from the very beginning, someone has plead guilty. Now pleading guilty doesn’t mean everybody else automatically comes off. There could be evidence that someone or some others were also involved in the matter, which is not the case in this trial. In any event, procedurally, all the weapons, the ammunition, the drugs, all the different clothing and things that were found had to be tendered by the prosecution and that is part of the police case. So we have reached the stage now where the case is coming down to the finishing line.  Today was basically a wrap-up of the prosecution’s case and the prosecutor informed the Chief Magistrate that next week they were making submissions. The Magistrate had informed the remaining two accused, one having pled guilty and gone to jail, another has either evaporated or disappeared. The two remaining accused were informed that next week the case will continue. She also indicated that depending on the submissions she will proceed to go over the whole file and all the evidence, listen to the submissions and if they are not very lengthy and if they don’t go all around Mulberry Bush, those are not her words, she may be able to hand down a decision next week as well. So the case is coming to a conclusion and it may finish as early as next week. “

Flores remains on remand at the Belize Central Prison as he has been deemed a flight risk