Belize City Taxi Driver Remanded for Firearms Offenses Claims Self-Defense

A Belize City taxi driver who was remanded to prison for firearms offenses today, says he was just trying to protect his family. Forty-five-year-old Ernie Zelaya appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court charged with one count of kept unlicensed firearm and one count of kept unlicensed ammunition. Initially, Zelaya pleaded guilty and began explaining that he had recently been assaulted and was fearful for his life. At one point Zelaya became emotional in court, the Magistrate adjourned for an hour to give him time to compose himself. He changed his plea to not guilty when he returned from the break. Due to the nature of the offense, bail could not be offered in the first instance, and he was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until August 24. Police had stopped Zelaya between Miles 6 and 7 on the Philip Goldson highway after midnight last Friday, as he was driving without his lights on. The officers searched Zelaya and didn’t find anything incriminating, so they searched his vehicle where they found a rusty 380 pistol with two live rounds of ammunition.