Even though there was an attempted armed robbery over the weekend in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize, which resulted in the shooting death of one of the suspected robbers, the San Pedro Police Department is reporting a significant decrease in crime on the island since the start of the festive season.
Officer in Charge of the San Pedro Police Department, Luis Castellanos, updated town officials and heads of neighborhood watches last week that since the beginning of the month, only three burglaries and three thefts have been officially reported at the station. This includes three consecutive days of crime free reports at the department; December is proving to be a pretty safe month for the island.
San Pedro Mayor Daniel Guerrero attributes this decrease in crime to the fact that there has been an increase in confidence on the San Pedro Police Department; the heads of the department are more approachable and easier to work with, says Mayor Guerrero. Castellanos adds that residents are now less afraid to make police reports which is of great assistance to the department.
Contrary to December, Castellanos reports that there was in increase in crime during the past two month of October and November that which he attributes to the slow season when the island sees more desperate individuals committing crimes as a means of survival. But with more targeted patrols and an increase in officer presence around the island, he believes the department will continue to keep crime at an all-time low in Ambergris Caye.
In the meantime, the San Pedro Town Council is working in providing the Police Department with a much-needed vehicle. The department had been operating without a properly functioning truck through all of September and October. Their immediate priority is to obtain more functioning vehicles and more proper housing as the Area Representative would like to add more police officers to the island’s department.
Armed Robbery at DFC Area
As per the robbery that occurred during the weekend, Police reports indicate that two male persons wearing masks (one armed with a handgun) attempted to rob the W&W Convenience Store at about 7:30p.m. on Saturday, December 21, 2013.
The armed assailant pointed the gun at his wife while the other jumped behind the counter. The store owner, Wei Ran Chen, fired his licensed 9mm luger pistol at them while inside of the store and the armed masked man returned fire.
At 8:30p.m. police visited the scene and at approximately 75ft south of the store in an open lot approximately (10ft away from the street) they found the body of a Creole male person wearing a blue ¾ Dickies pants, a dark T-shirt and a brown shirt covering his face. He was seen lying face down with a single gunshot wound to the left side of the chest. He was later identified to be one of the two robbers. At this time his name and other particular are unknown. The body was taken to the San Pedro Poly Clinic where he was pronounced dead and was subsequently taken to the KHMH morgue awaiting a postmortem examination. Police investigations continue.
