Second Suspect Remanded in Belize City Laptop Theft Case

A second man accused in the theft of a computer and other items valued at more than $4,000 has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison after being denied bail in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court.  Ryan Herbert, a 27-year-old mechanic of Peter Seco Street, Belize City, appeared unrepresented before a Senior Magistrate yesterday where he was charged with a single count of theft in connection with an incident reported earlier this month. Herbert pleaded not guilty to the charge. Although there was no formal objection to bail, the Senior Magistrate denied bail, citing the prevalence of theft offenses in the country.  Herbert has been remanded until February 27, and now joins his co-accused, Josh Flowers, also 27, who was previously remanded in the same matter.  Flowers, a construction worker, was arraigned on January 13, on a similar charge of theft. In his case, the prosecution strongly objected to bail, and the court denied it after being informed that Flowers had a history of failing to appear in court on other matters, raising concerns that he posed a flight risk.  The allegations stem from a report made by Chris Ramirez, who told police that on Friday, January 9, he left a laptop and other items on the steps of his home while briefly going inside to print documents. Ramirez reported that after hearing his dog barking continuously, he went outside and saw a man exiting his yard with his computer and running off.  Ramirez later reviewed his surveillance footage, which allegedly showed one man entering the yard and taking the laptop, while another individual was seen earlier dropping him off on a red motorcycle. Police say officers later reviewed the footage and positively identified Flowers as the person driving the motorcycle, while the other individual who allegedly took the laptop was known to police at the time but had not yet been arrested.  The stolen items are alleged to include a black laptop, a silver Apple MacBook valued at $3,500, an Apple reader, a USB hub, and assorted stationery items, bringing the total value to approximately $4,090.  Police say searches conducted at Flowers’ residence and at his girlfriend’s home did not recover the stolen property, but items resembling clothing and a helmet seen in the surveillance footage were reportedly found.