Alert Neighbor Calls Cops

This morning, The Belize District EDUCATION CENTER was loading up computers into its office - and - if you didn't know the background - you might have thought that they had gotten a Christmas gift from their ministry.

But in fact, District Education Manager Jahmoor Lopez was coming back from the police station after recovering all those items which had been stolen from the office on Saturday morning.

According to reports, sometime between 4:00 and 5:20 a.m. A thief or thieves broke into the office by ripping out the burglar bars in the bathroom. Then someone - a very small someone - broke off two louvers and slipped in through that hole. The watchman was missing, presumed having a good time.

Once inside, the thief or thieves got off with six computers, six flat screen monitors, six keyboards, and various peripherals at an estimated cost of about $13,000 dollars.

They stowed the equipment in an abandoned building behind the center and all would have gone well for the burglars, were it not for an eagle eyed and conscientious neighbor.

That person called police who responded just after 5:00 and caught one of a trio of men. He is 19 year old Frank Trapp and he appeared today in the #2 Magistrate's court where he pleaded not guilty. Trapp told the court he is innocent and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. He also said he is the father of a son and a daughter.

The prosecution objected to bail, but the Senior Magistrate offered him a bail of ten thousand dollars.

The office has now reinforced the burglar bar with steel bolts on the inside - because that office has now been burglarized three times. Remarkably, in all three cases, they recovered the stolen items.

Channel 7