Two American tourists, brothers Joshua Shumate, 26, and Andrew Shumate, 23, who were busted with cocaine hidden between the cheeks of their buttocks, were each fined $10,000 today in the #6 Magistrate’s Court after they pleaded guilty to charges of drug trafficking.
The Magistrate, Sharon Fraser, ordered them to pay the fines forthwith, and told them that if they default on payment, they would serve 3 years.
Joshua and Andrew were represented in court by attorney Lionel Welch. They wanted to plead guilty to possession at first, but the prosecution would not accept their pleas. Magistrate Fraser had already remanded them into custody until February 23 when they indicated to Welch that they wished to plead guilty to drug trafficking.
Joshua, Andrew and their mother, Carol Shumate, came to Belize City on Tuesday, January 23, from a cruise ship. They were busted about 4:30 p.m. the same day in Terminal #4 at the Tourism Village.
According to the facts that were read to Joshua and Andrew, the police, acting on information they received, approached the brothers and told them that a search would be conducted on them. While they were being escorted to Terminal #4 by the police, 4 small transparent plastic bags containing a white substance, suspected to be cocaine, fell from Joshua’s pants.
The police retrieved the bags from the ground, showed them to Joshua then continued to take him and his brother to Terminal #4.
Both brothers were taken into the bathroom at Terminal #4 and were stripped of their clothes.
Joshua was told to bend over and spread the cheeks of his buttocks, and when he did so, 3 transparent plastic bags containing a substance were seen stuck near his anus. The police removed the bags with the suspected cocaine and showed them to Joshua. When weighed, the cocaine amounted to 33 grams.
When the police told Andrew to spread the cheeks of his buttocks, he refused.
Consequently, Andrew was taken to Ladyville, where police forensic specialist Dr. Mario Estradabran removed a transparent plastic bag that contained 6 small parcels of suspected cocaine from his anus. When weighed, the bags amounted to 37.6 grams.
Joshua and Andrew were then charged with drug trafficking.