Photo: Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 22, 2024
At the beginning of the year, Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Kareem Musa told the media during the COMPSTAT conference for the year that, while the Belize Police Department managed to reduce the murder count during the past year, the country is still plagued with home invasions. That exact crime touched several more homeowners in the country, as they were victims of home invasions over the past weekend.
As mentioned above, there were reportedly three home invasions that occurred in different parts of the country.
The first home invasion occurred on Friday, January 19, in Belize City, where a family from York Street was inside their home when a pair of thieves entered the property. Reports indicate that Derone Lucario, 40, the homeowner, was at home along with his partner and several relatives when the pair of robbers entered his home through the front door, which was wide open.
One of the thieves, who was described as short, pointed a firearm at three minors who were present, and a taller individual who wore a black cap and red mask, also with a firearm, pointed it at the partner of Lucario.
They were able to snatch a gold chain and a cell phone belonging to Lucario’s partner, along with his gold chain and bracelet. The men then fled the home and escaped into Victoria Street. The items stolen are valued at $7,900.
ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander for the Belize Police Department’s Eastern Division, reported that the two persons are being sought by the department.
The other two incidents occurred on Sunday in the early hours of the night, the first involving a family in the Orange Walk District that was robbed by a man impersonating a police officer.
At around 1:00 a.m., Roberto Molina, 52, of San Antonio Village, was asleep with his common-law partner when they were awakened by a loud bang, then the voice of a man who identified himself as a police officer.
The man, who was described to be wearing camouflage attire, entered their home and snatched an undisclosed amount of cash along with a television set and personal items. He then handed the items to his partner who was waiting for him and they then fled the scene.
The couple wasn’t hurt, and cops are seeking the villains.
The final home invasion occurred that same day in the evening in Lucky Strike Village in the Belize District, where Antwan Miguel, 20, reported that around 4:30 p.m., he was at his grandmother’s home in the village when a duo of masked thieves arrived at the residence.
One of them proceeded to take Miguel inside the home and demanded money from him, but he didn’t have any on him. The men then looted the home, taking several electronic devices and personal items which are valued at over $4,000.
Today, Minister Musa commented on the recent home invasions that have been happening and on the department’s plans to contain them.
“… every single year we have hundreds of burglaries, [and] hundreds of robberies taking place, and that is why we are devising strategies, including enhancing our neighborhood-watch group component within the community policing unit of our department. All of these things go towards furthering community involvement, especially in rural communities. It’s very difficult, because there’s no police present in rural communities; and so, if we can create that sort of relationship between the public and the police department, I think that we can certainly bring down the number of burglaries taking place,” he said.