Photo: Stolen Hilux later found abandoned
by Charles Gladden
BELMOPAN, Mon. Nov. 6, 2023
The residents of the J&W North section of Belmopan, an area with approximately 100 homeowners, are in fear for their safety as several criminal activities have occurred affecting community members over the weekend.
One of the incidents that garnered media attention occurred on Saturday, November 5, sometime before 9:00 p.m., when Katherine Penner, 59, a Belmopan resident, was dropping off Kimory Lino, an 18-year-old student also of Belmopan, along with Ching Yi Lee, 49, in the J&W area of Belmopan after a church service.
When they arrived at Lino’s residence, they heard a voice saying “Get out,” and Penner reacted by getting out of her Toyota Hilux with her purse, which was snatched away from her at gunpoint by one of the alleged criminals, who then physically assaulted her.
Penner managed to escape from the culprits; however, they managed to take away her vehicle with both Lino and Lee inside. Both of them were later found on the Farmers Express Road in the Spanish Lookout area.
Reports to authorities suggest that the culprits demanded cell phones and other personal belongings from both Lino and Lee, who were later thrown out of the Hilux on the Farmers Express Road. Police were able to recover Penner’s vehicle which was found approximately a mile from Buena Vista in the Spanish Lookout area.
Concerned J&W North resident, Jacklyn Burns spoke to Amandala and highlighted that there was a community meeting as a result of the recent criminal activities in the usually quiet area.
“Even before the kidnapping, we called a neighborhood meeting – we’re a very active neighborhood group – and this area is relatively new, so from the onset we established a community chat group to exchange information. We decided to activate one of the plans we had discussed earlier which included security cameras in the area, and we had a proposal that was lying dormant by Mister Thimbrel of A+ Solutions. I reached out to Mister Thimbrel and asked him to make a presentation to the group and he agreed. We are also lobbying with the City Council to get some bushy areas cleared out. We’ve contacted OC Rhys, who’s the officer in charge of Belmopan for some spontaneous drive-throughs by the police,” she said.
Additionally, Burns mentioned that a security booth has been proposed by the community members, and the employment of individuals to monitor the area.
Regarding the reported kidnapping, Burns noted that she had spoken to the victim (the vehicle owner) several hours before the incident took place and she believes that the victim was being monitored.
“I feel that the young lady was being monitored too. I think it was pretty brave for these guys to be waiting at a random home looking out for someone who had just come home,” she noted.
She then highlighted that the sound of gunshots rang out in the area the night before. Fortunately, no one was injured in that incident. Approximately 9 expended shells were found, and there was structural damage to a home that was targeted.
Unofficial reports to Amandala have suggested that underworld elements from Cotton Tree Village have been utilizing the back area of J&W North, which connects to the George Price Highway, and it is suspected that they are the ones engaging in these recent criminal activities.