It took a police transfer for the Police Department to discover that big hustling, costing taxpayers almost $200,000, was taking place at the Queen Street Police Department, Eastern Division. A policeman is charged with selling 18, 965 gallons of fuel belonging to the Government of Belize, to private citizens with the collusion of attendants at a local gas station.
Heading the investigation is the new officer in charge of the Eastern Division, Assistant Commissioner Allen Whylie, who has ordered a vigorous investigation and has opted for criminal charges, in addition to disciplinary measures against the officer.
Leroy Kerr, 22, a resident of Hattieville, was taken to the Belize City Magistrate’s Court, where he appeared in front of Chief Magistrate Margaret Gabb-McKenzie and was read a single charge of theft. He met bail of $15,000.
No plea was taken because it is an indictable matter. There were no facts disclosed in court, but the charge sheet read that sometime between November 23, 2006, and April, 2007, Kerr dishonestly appropriated 18, 965 gallons of gasoline valued at $175, 525.15, the property of the Government of Belize (GOB).
Kerr, who was in charge of issuing fuel orders for the Police Department, would give authorized order forms to members of the public who would go to an attendant at the gas station and have him pump the gas into their private vehicles.
But today the police officers, who have done so before, took great pains to protect Kerr, one of their own, from the media. They would not escort Kerr to court through the front entrance as is usual, but spirited him in through the back entrance of the Magistrate’s Court, and rushing him through the entrance to the bailiff section of the court to get him into Court #1 for his arraignment.
Usually, police walk the ordinary accused through the front entrance and then through a door that leads to the Magistrate’s Court offices, and then they would go to the relevant courtroom.
But in Kerr’s case, this did not happen. This afternoon media personnel stood on the verandah of the Magistrate Court for more than two hours only for the police to hide the accused from the cameras.
This is becoming a practice of the police because earlier this year, when interdicted police officer Burton Caliz appeared in court, he, too, was rushed through a protected area to avoid the media.
In Caliz’s case, the police went to an extreme when they allowed him to exit the Supreme Court by using a window of the courtroom instead of allowing him to pass through the main entrance of the courtroom.
The same thing occurred last year when police officer Sheldon Arzu appeared in court for manslaughter. He was rushed through the back entrance and down the stairs and put in a private vehicle while the media waited at the main entrance for him.
Tonight, we were able to confirm that Kerr had worked under Assistant Commissioner Crispin Jeffries, (former head of Eastern Division, now attached to the Belmopan Police Department) at the Racoon Street Police Station.
Kerr had been stationed there for about a year and a half, we were reliably told. It was not until Inspector Allan Whylie, who now heads the Eastern Division, was appointed to the post about a month ago, that he found the discrepancies and immediately tasked the Criminal Investigations Branch (CIB), along with the Internal Affairs Department (IAD), to investigate the matter.
The case of PC Kerr was adjourned for August 30.