Car dealer remanded to prison for kidnapping his wife

Anfernee Conorquie, a 28-year-old car dealer, was remanded to Belize Central Prison today after being accused of kidnapping and assaulting his wife, and for breaching a protection order. The charges stem from an alleged domestic incident at their Mile 8 home.  Conorquie was arraigned in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on charges of kidnapping and common assault. He pleaded not guilty to common assault, but no plea was taken for the kidnapping charge as it is an indictable offense. Due to the serious nature of the kidnapping accusation, bail was denied, and he was remanded. Magistrate Ludlow Black informed Conorquie he could apply for bail at the High Court after 90 days, but it would not be an automatic process.  According to police reports, on Monday, June 30, Conorquie’s wife, a schoolteacher, reported that her husband held her against her will in her vehicle and drove off. This occurred despite a protection order she had obtained against him ten days earlier on June 20.  The teacher recounted that on Monday at around nine o’clock in the morning, she arrived home and was in her vehicle when Conorquie allegedly yelled at her. She immediately called 911 because her husband was wanted for a prior incident. She stated that Conorquie then approached her vehicle, took her dog, and threw it to the ground. When she picked up the dog, he allegedly took it again and threw it down.  He then reportedly grabbed her phone, pushed her against the vehicle, entered her vehicle, assaulted her sexually, pushed her to the passenger seat, and drove off with her, closing the door when she attempted to exit.  As they drove, the woman saw a police mobile and began honking the horn, but Conorquie allegedly pushed her away from the steering wheel. She managed to open the door, but he reportedly grabbed her arm, pulled her back into the vehicle, closed the door, and continued speeding off, eluding the police during a chase that led them through various areas including the John Smith Road, Ladyville, the Phillip Goldson Highway, Boom Road, and Hattieville before returning to the George Price Highway.   The victim repeatedly begged her husband to let her out and return her phone, but he refused. She reported that he eventually drove to a gas station at Mile 6, where he got into another vehicle with friends, returned her keys and cellphone, and left.  Conorquie was also taken to the Belize Family Court to answer a charge of breaching a protection order. The outcome of that arraignment is currently unknown.