Back in early August, an amateur video went viral on social media of a Dangriga woman under attacked inside her home and in front of her children. The attackers were a then eight-month-old pregnant woman, two Belizean-American women on vacation in Belize and a fourteen year old minor. Several days after the home invasion, Samanti Nicole Louis and her sister, Kimberlee Lino, and one of their sons along with Dangriga resident, Tiffany Cacho, were all charged for Aggravated Burglary, Damage to Property and Harm upon Brimmime Martinez. Police alleged that the group of four trespassed into Martinez’s home, one armed with a knife, with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The trio women were all remanded to the Central Prison and tonight, after two months of being unable to get bail, they’ve been freed of the offenses. The charges were struck out by the prosecution in the Dangriga Magistrate Court before Magistrate Emerson Banner after Martinez told the court that she did not want to proceed with the matter. And tonight, they are back on a flight to their home in the U.S. Attorney Richard “Dickie” Bradley represented Lino, Louis and the minor.
Richard “Dickie” Bradley
Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney
“Four persons were child, one a minor and the other three persons; two of whom were visiting from the United States of America and there was one battle, as you would recall, going back and forth in the Supreme Court in relation to granting bail because the court was of the view that they really had no ties to Belize and they would have no reason to return to the country. And so those two young ladies were imprisoned from August to September when we were finally able to get bail for them; high bail in the Supreme Court. I think bail was like thirty thousand dollars with the withholding of all their travel documents and then some other stringent conditions of course. In any event, the matter ended happily this week in the Dangriga Court because Dangriga is a closely linked community and the complainant decided that they have probably punished enough for the period they were in prison and they have very young children stuck here in Belize, can’t attend school in the United States and so all is well that ends well. So the matter was in fact dismissed in the court; the complainant not wanting to pursue for good reasons. So the persons are on a plane on their way back to the United States of America.”