BELIZE CITY, Mon. Apr. 3, 2017–For several months in 2010, Aaron Wilson masqueraded around Belize City as a police officer, but he was eventually indicted on 5 counts of “false pretense of office, to wit, a police officer.”
His trial in the Supreme Court of Justice Adolph Lucas ended this evening when a jury of four women and five men returned guilty verdicts on two of the five counts of pretense of office. The jury had deliberated for a little under 3 hours before returning into the courtroom with their unanimous guilty verdict.
Justice Adolph Lucas told Wilson, 27, “You would be stupid not to come back to court when I tell you to.”
Having said that, Justice Lucas agreed with Wilson’s defense attorney, Christelle Wilson, to the date of April 10 when he will pass sentence on him. Justice Lucas noted how long the trial had taken and in keeping with a ruling from the Caribbean Court of Justice, he allowed Wilson to go home.
Wilson was facing a 5-count indictment, but the Crown could not prove 3 counts of the indictment against him. Therefore, after the jury had announced its guilty verdict on two counts of the indictment, Justice Lucas directed the jury to return not guilty verdicts in respect of the three counts — 1, 2 and 5.
The Crown’s evidence in the three-week trial was led by Crown counsel Janelle Tillett, who called a total of 11 witnesses to testify against Wilson.
Superintendent Glen Rivero proved to be a reliable witness for the Crown’s case against Wilson.
A woman, Shannon Martinez, had filed a report about Wilson on July 16, 2010, and when Rivero began to investigate the report, it led him directly to Wilson.
Rivero asked Wilson what was his name when he eventually met him face to face, and Wilson replied that his name was Police Constable Aaron Wilson.
The Crown also relied on a statement of Helen Myles, a deceased employee of the Belize City Traffic Department, who had recounted that Wilson had taken two letters, purportedly signed by Senior Superintendent of Police Linden Flowers, and Commissioner of Police David Henderson, recommending him for a driver’s license.
In her statement, Myles said that the first time she had met Wilson, he was dressed in a police uniform and had introduced himself as “Special Constable Aaron Wilson.” Wilson told Myles that he had just been transferred from Cayo.
Both Flowers and Henderson testified at the trial and denied that they had signed letters of recommendation for Wilson.
Wilson’s defense had actually tendered Flowers’ letter into evidence, but when Flowers took the witness stand, he denied that the signature on the letter was his.
Wilson took the witness stand in his own defense and engaged the court in an elaborate story about how he became a cop. He explained that he approached Commissioner Henderson and he appointed him, telling him that he (Wilson) would be his run-man.
Wilson also told the court that he collected a salary of $650 every fortnight and he reported for duty at the Queen Street Police Station.
In the end, however, the jury did not believe his story.
In 2011, Wilson was found guilty of theft and indecent assault. At the time, he was a first-time offender and was fined $700, plus cost of court on the theft charge and $1,500 and cost of court on the indecent assault charge.