SAN IGNACIO, Cayo District, Wed. June 10, 2020– Corporal Reymundo Carrillo and Constable Marlon Triminius were jointly charged with one count of extortion this afternoon at the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court.
The two cops were each offered bail of $8,000 and two sureties of the same amount. They were able to meet bail and were ordered to return to court on October 28.
Police said that the two officers extorted $100 ($50 each) from a man who was driving a motorcycle without his driver’s license, who they ordered to give them money so that they would not arrest and charge him.
The cops allegedly went to the man’s house for the money. After the cops took the money and left, their victim called the police station and made a complaint.
The information was sent up to the Commander of the station, and a search was conducted on the two officers. Police found a $50 note on each of them.
The victim told police that at about 2:00 Sunday afternoon, he was driving his motorcycle on the Spanish Lookout Road when he saw two policemen manning a checkpoint, and he drove into a yard to avoid them, but the policemen saw him and came after him.
When they asked for his license and the documents for the motorcycle, he did not have them, and that was when they demanded $100 from him so that they did not arrest him. He told police that at the time, he did not have the money, but he told them that he would have the cash on Sunday morning, and they wrote down his name and address.
The victim told police that at about 9:00 Sunday morning, he was awakened by loud knocks on his door, and when he went to see who it was, he saw the two policemen. They had come to collect the money.
The victim gave them the two $50 bills, and they left.
Superintendent Henry Jemmott, Commander of San Ignacio police, said that he was informed of the extortion and that the two policemen have been arraigned in the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court. He said that he has zero tolerance for policemen acting like criminals in uniform, and that the police should be there to serve and to protect people, and not to abuse them. He has already dealt with twelve (12) policemen who committed crimes in San Pedro, and five (5) in San Ignacio, he said.
The two policemen will also be charged internally for violation of Police Codes of Conduct, for bringing the department into disrepute, and for conduct unbecoming of police officers. They will face a police tribunal that has the power to serve harsh sentences if the cops are found guilty, including discharging them from the department with disgrace and forfeiting their benefits for their years of service.
The two policemen have been placed on interdiction.
Attorney Hurl Hamilton of Belmopan, the attorney for the two policemen, told the media that the offense is serious and that he will mount a vigorous defense when the matter goes to court.
Feature photo: Corporal Raymundo Carrillo and PC Marlon Triminius, rear right, being taken to courtÂ