Today, Frank Trapp, 19, a food vendor/laborer of Police Street, was arraigned for burglary after police caught him in the act of burglarizing the Belize District Education Center on Mahogany Street.
Residents told Amandala that sometime around 5 a.m., three men tore out the back window of the building, drove a vehicle under the window and started to steal several electronic items.
These included six CPU’s, six flat screen monitors, five black keyboards, a blue Netgear router, a laminator, a RCA radio/CD player, three X-Tech speakers, a grey APC back-up power supply, a grey USB cable, four mouse pointing devices, an optical mouse, and nine assorted cable wires, all to a total estimated value of $13,000.
The men then reportedly stored the items in an abandoned building behind the education facility, in the hopes of recovering them at a later time.
Unfortunately for them, things didn’t work out the way they planned. Police say that they were promptly informed of the robbery by a resident, and they caught one of the burglars on the scene. His two accomplices escaped, but police are confident that they will eventually detain them shortly.
Trapp pleaded not guilty to the charge when he was arraigned, without legal representation. The prosecution objected to bail due to the nature of the offense, the fact that police are still looking for the other two suspects, and that the case is still ongoing.
However, Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer offered him bail of $10,000, plus two sureties, but Trapp was unable to meet bail; he has been remanded. He remains imprisoned until he is able to make arrangements to meet bail. His case has been adjourned to February 1, 2012.
Although Belize City’s District Education Officer, Jahmoor Lopez, couldn’t comment freely, he did tell us that all the items were recovered. He also added that this is the third failed attempt at the burglary of this facility.
The police have also been able to recover all the items that have been stolen in all three attempts. They have also told us that the community has been instrumental in their quick and successful response.