Giovanni Murrillo, Everal Teck Jr., and Lionel Lorenzo Sedacy, charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm
Three Belize City seamen who, according to police, were engaged in acts of piracy on the high seas and who fired at a Belize Coast Guard vessel that was attempting to intercept them were arraigned and remanded to the Belize Central Prison after appearing in court Monday morning.
The men, Lionel Emmanuel Sedacy, 37, Giovanni Murillo, 28, and Everal Teck, Jr., all appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith, who arraigned them on two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm against Jose Reyes and Dobian Montero.
All pleaded not guilty to the charges, but because the offences were committed with a firearm, bail could not be granted and they were remanded to prison until their next scheduled court appearance on June 13.
The incident for which the men are charged occurred on Thursday, April 10. Around 6:45 p.m. on that day, the Belize Coast Guard was called by fishermen and told that they were being robbed of their products somewhere southeast of Middle Long Caye, which lies about 20 miles from Belize City.
When the Coast Guard arrived in the area, they were met by a fisherman who reported to them that he had been robbed by some men who were travelling in a skiff, and a description of the skiff was given.
A search of the area was conducted by the Coast Guard and the patrol came across a skiff which resembled the description given to them by the fishermen. Three men were seen onboard the skiff.
After a chase on the high seas, the skiff attempted to lure the Coast Guard vessel into the shallow waters of a nearby creek. When the skiff stopped “dead in the waters,” those onboard the patrol boat thought that either they had run out of fuel or had experienced engine failure.
But as the Coast Guard vessel approached the skiff, shots rang out, prompting the Coast Guard officers to return fire.
The skiff began making its way on the high seas once more, as if it was heading back to Middle Long Caye. That was a miscalculation on the part of the occupants of the skiff, because they were quickly out-maneuvered and the three men on board were all apprehended.
The Coast Guard detained Giovanni Murillo, a boat captain of 6 Nargusta Street; Lionel Sedacy, a fisherman of 47 Amara Avenue; and Everal Teck Jr., 19, a fisherman of 1 Youth for the Future Drive. They were brought to Belize City and handed over to police, who laid the two aggravated assault charges on them.
Their blue and green 23-ft. fiberglass skiff named DANNICA was impounded and taken to the Coast Guard headquarters.