Photo: Epifania Caliz, charged with common assault

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Oct. 30, 2023

Epifania Caliz, 35, of Belmopan, who was facing ammunition charges along with her common-law husband, alleged former rogue cop Elmer Nah, has been charged with common assault for pulling down her face mask and coughing on a well-known court reporter, Anita Nembhard, approximately two weeks ago while exiting the Magistrate’s Court in Belize City.

According to an Amandala article dated October 19, the incident occurred on Monday, October 16, while Nembhard, as part of her coverage of the trial taking place inside the courtroom in connection with the ammunition charges facing Caliz, her brother and Nah, was recording video footage outside of the courtroom. She had captured footage of Caliz and her brother exiting the courtroom when Caliz approached her, pulled down her mask and coughed in her face.

The entire act was captured in video footage, in which Caliz, who had been wearing a face mask because she had cold symptoms, can be seen walking toward Nembhard, intentionally pulling down her mask and coughing. At the tail end of the video, Manuel Caliz, the brother of Epifania, is seen laughing.

After the incident occurred, Nembhard publicly expressed her intention to take legal action against Caliz, but told local media that she was getting the runaround from the police officers to whom she had made a report. Caliz then proceeded to issue an apology via her attorney, Richard “Dickie” Bradley, but Nembhard rejected the apology, calling it “not a genuine apology”.

Nembhard told Amandala that her position remains the same: she is not willing to accept any apology from Epifania Caliz.

Caliz was charged with common assault against Nembhard; she is expected to appear in court on Friday, November 3.

Epifania and Manuel Caliz along with Nah had gone to court on the day of the incident for ammunition charges that the trio was then facing. All three were found not guilty of those charges.