BELMOPAN, Wed. July 7, 2021– On Friday, July 2, the San Ignacio Police Department conducted a search operation in Duck Run Two village. Around 5:20 a.m., the officers came upon the home of 33-year-old Ramiro De La Rosa and his wife, 27-year-old Merli De La Rosa. Upon inspection of the home, the officers found a brown 16-gauge single-action shotgun with serial number B969133 and four live cartridges. Neither of the two inhabitants of the home possessed a valid gun license, and as a result they were both arrested and charged for possession of a firearm without a gun license and possession of ammunition without a gun license.

Following his arrest, De La Rosa was advised by police officers and a Justice of the Peace to plead guilty to the charges in an attempt to free his shaken wife so that she could return to their kids at home. He was made to believe that he would likely be granted bail. Instead, when he was arraigned in the Magistrate’s Court, he was given a 3-year prison sentence.

It was not until after De La Rosa’s sentencing that a number of posts about his plight began to surface on social media. His family has explained that his father was the owner of the shotgun in question. His father, however, had died recently due to complications related to COVID-19. The seemingly unjust prison sentence that was imposed on De La Rosa has thus enraged a large number of residents of the Cayo District and birthed a “Justice For Ramiro” campaign — aimed at freeing Ramiro from his prison sentence.

When the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, was asked to comment on what took place, he described it as “a rather unfortunate situation.” He stated, however, that since the court has already made its final decision, there is nothing that can be done by the police to grant De La Rosa his freedom. Commissioner Williams said that if this information had been available prior to the sentencing, the outcome could have been different. While there is nothing that can be done by the police, Commissioner Williams advised the involved parties to seek out an attorney and appeal this sentence. Williams is confident that the new evidence that has emerged would lead an appellant court to reverse the previous sentence.

Commissioner Williams has nonetheless asserted that he does not condemn the officer who arrested De La Rosa. “I cannot fault the officer for doing his work. He did his job. Yes, I wish that in the circumstances that there was some degree of discretion exercised, but that was not the case, and I am not going to hold it against the police officer in question,” Williams said.

Further reports have indicated that a petition in support of pardoning Ramiro has been mailed to the Office of the Governor General. This is an ongoing campaign for the release of Ramiro, and it is believed that if the request for a pardon is rejected, legal action will be taken.