Jason Brown Acquitted as Court Dismisses Long-Running Gang Affiliation Case

Jason Brown has been acquitted of gang-affiliation charges after appearing before the Punta Gorda Magistrates Court, closing a legal chapter that began in 2021 when he was arrested and accused of forming a Bloods gang in southern Belize.  The case, which has followed Brown for several years, traces its origins back much further. Suspicion surrounding his alleged involvement in gang activity dates to 2008, when British journalist Ross Kemp filmed a documentary on gangs in Belize that featured Brown prominently and identified him as a gang lieutenant. Brown publicly disputed that portrayal at the time, stating he was misquoted and misrepresented, and insisting he had never led nor belonged to a gang.  Despite those denials, in August 2021 police formally charged Brown under the Crime Control and Criminal Justice Act with being a member of a criminal gang. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded to the Belize Central Prison then granted bail.  On Friday, the Punta Gorda Magistrates Court found that the prosecution had failed to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt, resulting in Brown’s acquittal.  Speaking to Love News following the ruling, Brown’s attorney, David McKoy, described the case as a long and difficult ordeal that stemmed largely from the lingering impact of the 2008 documentary and the resulting stigma attached to his client.

David McKoy, Attorney: “Unfortunately for Mr. Brown from then he felt that he was exploited by Braskemp and the persons who created the video. That video was done in 2008. Fast forward to 2021, Mr. Brown was charged on the allegation that he formed a bloods gang in Punta Gorda. He was denied bail initially and sent to prison. He got bail and he showed up for each and every adjournment and court hearing in the PG Magistrate Court. And last week he was acquitted of the charge of being a member of a gang. He had vehicles in PG, you know, a business, a viable business. And according to him he was forced to shut down that business. He was again his position was the he was told he cannot remain in PG. His vehicle was taken away, that’s still an ongoing matter that we need to resolve. In relation to his trial though it went the full, he was prosecuted by I think the former prosecutor Alifa Elrington who I don’t believe is a prosecutor anymore but she was the one who had spearheaded the prosecution in terms of delivering the evidence against Mr.Brown. Unfortunately the evidence that she delivered was not for a lack of a better word anything that would have led to a proper conviction of Mr.Brown for the charge which is being a member of a gang. It is unfortunate that Mr.Brown would spend almost four years going to a trial which was hopeless from the inception because they were not able to establish that there was in fact a bloods gang and Mr. Brown was a member of that bloods gang. There are certain requirements that the law imposes when a person is charged for being a member of a gang. You know police officers at times feel that if you jump up and charge someone for an offence you know that’s it but it has to be more than just, especially when it comes to gang charges. You have to have some credible evidence to go for and to put in your case because the outcomes would be like this. But it’s unfair because Mr.Brown had maintained his innocence from the inception and said he was not a part of a gang.”

Brown has not yet made a public statement following the ruling, but his attorney says they are contemplating legal recourse on the matter of his losses in business and his reported ejection out of Punta Gorda Town.