Photo: (l-r) Leroy Garoy and Malique Chavez
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 8, 2024
Tonight, 3 men from the south side of Belize City, who, along with a fourth suspect who was shot and killed during an armed robbery at a business place on Freetown Road, are behind bars pending possible bail application at the High Court for the offenses of aggravated burglary and abetment to commit aggravated burglary.
Shortly before 10:00 this morning, the group of 3 was escorted in the court van to the Belize City Magistrate’s Court to be arraigned, and by 11:00 they were escorted into Court #8 to be read separate charges.
First to be arraigned on a single charge of aggravated burglary were 24-year-old, call center agent, Malique Chavez, of a Cemetery Road, Belize City address; and 19-year-old Leroy Anthony Garoy, a resident of #71 Taylor’s Alley, Belize City.
The duo are accused of entering as trespassers, the home of Michael Cambranes, located at #70 Freetown Road, whilst armed with a firearm, a black chrome Daewoo brand pistol with serial number, 401246, and of stealing 1 gold bracelet valued at $3,600 and a Samsung Galaxy cellphone valued at $350, all to a total of $3,950.00, property of Michael Cambranes.
Both Garoy and Chavez pleaded not guilty, but under the Firearms Act, Section 16-1 of the Criminal Control and Justice Act, they were denied bail and remanded into custody at the Belize Central Prison until September 23, 2024.
Second to be arraigned for the offense of abetment to commit aggravated burglary was taxi-driver, 45-year-old, Harvey Sambula, a resident of #3366 Police Street, Belize City.
Allegations are that Sambula, who is the brother of a police officer who is a Magistrate with the judiciary system, on August 6, 2024, purposely aided Malique Chavez and Leroy Garoy in the commission of a crime, to wit aggravated burglary.
The offense of abetment to burglary is a bailable matter, but Prosecutor Ayala objected to bail being granted to Sambula on the grounds that the matter for which he is charged is a very serious offense, and the Prosecution fears that Sambula may try to interfere with the witnesses for the prosecution case.
When the sitting Magistrate of Court #8 asked Sambula why the court should grant him bail and not send him to jail, that’s when Sambula on his own behalf said, “I am not a street figure, and I was simply doing a taxi job.”
Sambula further added that he would never try to tamper with the police case by interfering with any of the witnesses or anyone involved in the case.
According to Sambula, as a taxi driver he does daily errands from out of the Belize Vital Statistics Department office and also for the Airport, and so he asked the court to grant him bail so he could be out to work.
While the sitting Magistrate noted that the accused is considered to be innocent until proven otherwise, he took notice that the offense for which he is accused is one of a very serious nature. Sambula was denied bail, and remanded to the Belize Central Prison with Chavez, and Garoy, who is the younger sibling of the robber, Leroy Smith, 24, who was shot dead. The trio are due back in Court on September 23, 2024.
The facts of the case! On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, about 1:50 p.m., acting upon information received from Control Room of a robbery on Freetown Road, Belize City, CIB northside personnel visited Casa Churros & Mini Café located at #70 Freetown Road, Belize City, where they met and spoke with 33-year-old businessman, Michael Cambranes, who reported that at around 11:39 a.m., whilst lifting the grey metal shutter of his business place, he was approached by three male persons, one of whom he said pointed a chrome 9 mm firearm in his direction.
According to Cambranes, the men demanded money, and when he told then he did not have any money on him, that’s when one of the men pointed the chrome 9 mm pistol to the back of his head and took him upstairs.
According to Cambranes, he then led the gunman to a room where a struggle ensued and he managed to take away the gun from the man. Cambranes said that, fearing for his life, he fired shots in the direction of the man which hit him.
That alleged gunman/robber was found in a kneeling position apparently dead at the scene.
According to Cambranes, the other two men robbed him of a gold 14K bracelet valued $3,600, his Samsung phone valued $350, and a set of car keys. The men then ran out of the building and jumped into a green Toyota Camry taxi which was waiting for them on Freetown Road.
Police later intercepted the said taxi at the corner of Victoria Street and New Road, and 3 suspects were found inside – Sambula, Chavez and Garoy.
The police escorted the three men to the Police Station where a search of them led to the discovery of the items Cambranes said were stolen from him. The bracelet was found in Garoy’s pants pocket, and Chavez had the cell phone in his possession.