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Four men charged for chopping PC Teul

GeneralFour men charged for chopping PC Teul

MAYA MOPAN, BELMOPAN, Cayo District, Fri. Jan. 3, 2020– Four men of Maya Mopan have been charged for attacking and chopping police constable Edgar Teul, 33, of Maya Mopan, on New Year’s Day near the Maya Mopan football field. At the time of the incident, about 2:30 in the afternoon, PC Teul, who is attached to the Benque Viejo police, was off duty, socializing with friends and family. The police officer was chopped in his head, back and arms and he was rushed to the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan. He was later transferred to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he remains, in a condition that is considered critical but stable.

The four men charged for attacking PC Teul are three brothers: Abelino Cal, 21, a construction worker; Irvin Cal, 23, a construction worker; Magdaleno Cal, 18, a laborer of Maya Mopan; and Sender Migdael Gonzalez, 21, a construction worker of Maya Mopan. Abelino and Magdaleno Cal were both charged with attempted murder and use of deadly means of harm, while Irvin and Migdael were charged with aggravated assault. Today, the men were arraigned at the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court, where the charges were read to them. They pled not guilty to the charges. Bail was not offered and they were ordered into remand until March 23, 2020.

Attorney Hurl Hamilton, who represented the three brothers, said that they indicated to him that they were claiming self-defense, so they were not guilty of the offenses. He said that the magistrate could not grant bail because they were charged with attempted murder and the Magistrate’s Court cannot offer bail for such crimes. Bail was denied to the two charged with aggravated assault because the charges are associated with the same incident. Hamilton said that he will seek bail for the brothers from the Supreme Court.

The brutal attack on the policeman by the four men was captured on video that went viral. People watched in horror as rocks were thrown at the head of the policeman who was not armed, and the men chopped him multiple times. Fortunately a police patrol that was working in the area was alerted of the attack on the policeman and they fired shots in the air to disperse the attackers, and later arrested them.

PC Teul’s nephew, Dario Cal, a former gang member who withdrew from the gang, said that he was the target. In speaking with Plus TV Belmopan, Cal said that on the New Year’s Day evening, he, his uncle and other relatives were in their yard socializing when he saw four men known to him approach him. Dario said they were all carrying machetes and he knew that they came with the intention to hurt someone. Dario said they told him that they were going to kill him, and there was an exchange of words, and that was when his uncle PC Teul intervened to pacify the situation. However, instead of calming down and going away the four men escalated the situation by throwing rocks at Teul, and chopping him.

Cal said that his life is in danger since leaving the gang, but he will not return to that type of life. He said that the attackers are gang members who want to control the whole area.

Teul’s sister, Dario Cal’s mother, said that she wants justice for her brother and is calling on the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, for help to ensure that the four men are dealt with to the full extent of the law because this not the first time that the men have attacked and hurt a policeman in the area. She said that her son was the target because they told him so, but her brother who tried to stop them was hurt.

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