A taxi operator who allegedly caught a man breaking into his car and stabbed him to death was arraigned on a murder charge one day after the victim was found and identified by his family members.

Charles Herrera, 43, a resident of 6959 Lavender Street, was not required to enter a plea when Magistrate Dale Cayetano read the murder charge to him in court this afternoon. Herrera, however, did enter a not guilty plea to the charge of being in possession of an illegal drug.

Herrera has been charged with murder for the death of Dangriga resident Ezekiel Hernandez Medina, 25, whose body was found around 5:30 a.m. on Monday at the corner of Lavender and Partridge Streets.

When CIB police officers arrived on the scene, they saw the body of a slimly built man with an Afro hair style, and they observed three stab wounds in the upper right side of the man’s back. The then unidentified person was dressed in a yellow polo shirt and a black and white pants, and had a tattoo with the name “Ezekiel” on his upper left arm, along with the initials “EH” on the right leg area above the knee.

Medina was pronounced dead at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital around 7:08 that morning, and his relatives travelled to Belize City from Dangriga to assist police in identifying his body.

Magistrate Cayetano, after arraigning Herrera on the murder charge, remanded him to prison until July 31.

Police also charged Herrera with two counts of possession of a controlled drug for 0.6 grams and 3.2 grams of cannabis, allegedly found in his possession.

In court, the prosecutor informed Magistrate Cayetano that Herrera also owes the court. He had been fined $210 for the traffic offense of driving contrary to the flow of traffic, which he never paid.