A family in Belize City was devastated today by the news that their loved one would not be coming home from court with them. Thirty-three year old Darrell Henry has been behind bars since December on firearm charges, but his case is far from typical. Henry was charged in December for possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol and failure to provide a specimen. Those charges were dismissed on December twentieth by Magistrate Dale Cayetano. He upheld a submission by Henry’s attorney, Dickie Bradley, that there was no case to answer. But the Police seemed inordinately interested in keeping Henry in lockdown and as he exited the courtroom, he was taken back into custody. On December twenty-third, he was charged with keeping an unlicensed firearm, keeping unlicensed ammunition, handling stolen goods and possession of a false document. That’s because Police claim that the gun in question was stolen, and the gun license in Henry’s possession was forged. Today Henry appeared before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser. Frazer indicated that he was already on remand for twenty-four days and he is now eligible for bail. She said that it is especially important in light of the attention the case has been getting because of the entities involved. But unfortunately for Henry, he could not get bail, which was a disappointment to his family, because his bail application has to be heard in the Supreme Court. He has applied for bail since the third of January, but it still has not been dealt with as yet. His bail hearing has been set for January twenty-fourth, and he must return to Magistrate’s Court on the twenty-first of February. Throughout this entire ordeal, Henry’s family has maintained that he has been unfairly victimized by the GSU because of personal reasons.
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