By Belize Live News Staff: It took just five minutes on Sunday afternoon for one San Pablo Village man to collect two criminal charges, the fallout from a weekend in which two members of his own family walked into the Trial Farm Police Sub Station with strikingly similar stories.
The first came from his 45-year-old sister, home from Chetumal, Mexico, to visit their mother. She reported that on Friday night, July 10, the family sat down to supper when her brother arrived, apparently under the influence of alcohol, and turned aggressive, accusing the family of speaking ill of him. When she tried to push him out of the kitchen, she told police, he answered with a punch to her left cheek. He fled the moment he heard her calling for the police. She asked for court action.
Barely twenty-four hours later, the second incident unfolded. His 17-year-old nephew reported that on Saturday night, as he stepped out the back door of the family home, the man charged and swung at his face. The teen slipped most of the punch, taking a graze to the cheek, and relatives had to physically separate the man from him.
Both family members told police the lighting left no doubt about who attacked them, and both wanted the matter before the court.
On Sunday, July 12, police detained the 47-year-old construction worker and formally charged him with common assault twice over, once for each complaint, the second charge following the first by mere minutes.
Because one of the complainants is a minor and the parties are related, no names are being published in this matter.
It is worth noting that the accused, like anyone facing charges, is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until proven guilty before the court. And for anyone dealing with violence within the family, support is available through the police and trusted services, reaching out can make all the difference.
