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230K Stolen/Recovered in Armed Robbery Of Bank, Alleged Robber Killed

Two hundred and thirty thousand dollars was stolen this morning just before 9:00 in an armed bank robbery at one of the most crowded areas of the city - the San Cas Plaza at the Belcan roundabout.

It is the most daring armed robbery in Belize City has seen - and it left one man dead.

It also terrified those living near to or alongside the Belize River between the Belcan and Haulover bridges. They heard an extended exchange of gunfire between police and the bank robbers - who tried to escape across the river.

Monica Bodden found out more about what looks to have been a well-orchestrated, well-executed and ultimately, foiled bank robbery.

Here's her report:

Monica Bodden Reporting

At approximately 9 this morning - police officers responded to a report of a Bank Robbery at the First Caribbean Bank in the San Cas Plaza.

On arrival at the scene - it was learned that 4 armed men entered the bank - made their way into the vault - where they then helped themselves to a roughly estimated 2 hundred and thirty thousand dollars.

The money was stuffed into two black bags - one described as a knapsack and the other a plastic bag.

The four men then fled the area on foot - heading to the Northern highway. Albert Crawford, a security officer working as San Cas Limited - was alerted and quickly responded to the robbery.

He managed to chase the 4 robbers up the northern highway.

But he was forced to stop when one of the assailants pulled out his gun - pointed it at Crawford and attempted to shoot him. Luckily for Crawford, the gun snapped. In an off camera interview with us, he recorded this morning's chain of events.

Albert Crawford - Security Guard
"A bit after 9 this morning, I got a call from my supervisor upstairs, the surveillance personnel, who monitors the camera. He told me that they were robbing the bank. So I usually stand up in front of Save U, and when he told me this, I started walking toward the front of the First Caribbean Bank. And when I was walking I saw these young men coming out of the bank: two colored slim young men and a small Hispanic guy, three of them. They were holding two black bags, which I believe that the money was contained in. They were walking like they were going up the Northern Highway. So my supervisor and I set chase after them. When we got by the taxi stand by the bus stop, one of the young men pulled out his gun and pointed at us like this, but the gun stopped. We have firearms also, but we didn't want to shoot due to the public and the taxi drivers who were there. So we came back; I followed them and they jumped into a Rodeo in front of A&R."

Monica Bodden
"What color was the Rodeo?"

Albert Crawford
"It was a grey Rodeo. They headed up toward the Northern Highway. My supervisor and I started to chase after them in our company truck, the red truck. And we chased them up to where they stopped by jungle area. A vehicle flew past the young men. They jumped out of the vehicle and ran toward the back of the place, and then the vehicle continued going. When we went to the back of the building, it was then that we saw the young men were fighting to jump in to swim across to the next side of the river."

The men made their way to the Pact round-about - and attempted to cross the river in this small skiff that was tied up at the edge of this dock.

Over at the other side of the river is La Croix Boulevard as the eastern edge of the St Martins area. Once inside the small boat - they were surrounded by police officers on both sides of the river.

Reports are that the robbers began firing shots at police who returned fire. During the massive shoot out, the robbers jumped out the boat and began swimming, leaving behind the two bags of money.

One bag was discovered floating in the river and the other in the skiff.

Albert Crawford - Security Guard
Well, at US Imports, that the Arab people own, right at the back there. They had a small skiff, which had no machine, no paddle. It was in that they were trying to escape. When we got the back, the young men jumped into the river and were trying to swim across. They had two 9 mm in the boat, and they had a big black garbage bag half filled with money. They rest of guys were swimming across, but the last one, who got killed, he got shot because he was swimming backwards. I saw when he got out of the river it was like a piece of his head back was missing. The other guys had already run into the bushes. They got away and left."

Monica Bodden
"Did they manage to move the boat at all?"

Albert Crawford
"Well, a little while after, the police brought the boat down the river, took it to a truck probably to the station. I guess that they recovered the two bags of money because I saw one of them floating into the river, and one was in the boat."

Reporter
"Now, the robbers, did they have anything on their faces?"

Albert Crawford
"Only one of them had a cap on, and the one at the back had on a - to me, they looked like people who work for the sanitation company because they had on the bright neon colored clothing."

20 year old Albert Benito Assi - one of the 4 robbers attempting to get-away to the other side of the river - was fatally shot by police.

The other 3 robbers managed to escape but police believe on of them was shot during the shootout. Assi's body lay here at this spot - in the backyard of a residence on La Croix boulevard until a police mobile arrived to take him to the morgue.

In front of a crowd of spectators, his body was lifted and then placed on this stretcher - put in the pan of this police pick-up truck and escorted through the crowd - to the morgue, where his grieving family was waiting outside the morgue to identify his lifeless body.




ACP Elodio Aragon, Jr. - Officer Commanding, Eastern Division
"Earlier today, at approximately 9 a.m., information was received that the First Caribbean Bank, located at San Cas Plaza, was being robbed. Upon receiving this information from the Police Control Room, officers were immediately dispatched to the location. Quick police response and coordination, along with the members of the Bullet Public, resulted in a police pursuit of the suspects. Our officers encountered 4 of the robbery suspects making their way across the river, on a small fiberglass vessel, at the Ventura Roundabout, opposite the La Croix Boulevard on the Belize River. Immediately seeing the police officers, the 4 suspects opened fired, at which time the police returned fire, which resulted in one of the suspects being fatally wound, and the other 3 suspects escaping on the opposite side of the river. We have confirmed the identity of the deceased robbery as that of one Robert Benito Asi, a 20 year-old Belizean. It is believe that one of the 3 suspects, who escaped, received gunshot injuries. Police were able to recover 2 9mm pistols with several rounds of ammunition, along with 2 bags containing an undisclosed amount of cash, believed to have been the proceeds of the robbery. A vehicle has also been impounded as part of this investigation, along with a small fiberglass vessel. We are looking for several suspects, who we believe can assist in this investigation."

Police believe that this Silver Isuzu Rodeo - without any license plates - may have been the get-a-way vehicle in this morning's Bank Robbery. The vehicle was impounded by police this morning. It was found parked in this yard at a residence in the Belama Phase 1 area facing the river.

The four doors of the vehicle were locked up but inside the ignition was the vehicle key - which police found to be out of the norm.

Vehicle Owner
"This morning, I was called by my neighbors saying that there were police in my daughter's yard because they suspected that the vehicle that's parked in the yard is the vehicle that was in a robbery this morning of some bank."

Reporter
"But as far as you know, the vehicle should have been here right because it's not working properly?"

Vehicle Owner
"I wasn't too sure on what happened. When I spoke with my daughter, she said that she took the vehicle to work, and then the gentleman came for the vehicle because the vehicle wasn't working properly. He came and parked it in the yard."

Reporter
"The gentleman being who?"

Vehicle Owner
"Mr. Clota."

Reporter
"Who is he? What's the relation?"

Vehicle Owner
"He's my daughter's boyfriend."

Reporter
"Okay, so he went with the vehicle?"

Vehicle Owner
"He went with the vehicle, brought it, parked it, and then this - as far as she told me - was a little after 8 o'clock."

Reporter
"That he came for it, or that he brought it back?"

Vehicle Owner
"That he came for it and brought it back, because she said that she got to work before 8 o'clock. At around 8 o'clock, he called, came and picked up the vehicle, and brought it here."

Reporter
"So it was parked here before 8?"

Vehicle Owner
"No exactly, it was parked here - maybe we can say 7:30 because she usually leaves for work between 7:30 and a quarter to 8. She took the vehicle this morning, and he came for it a little after 8, brought it up here, and parked it. And I understand from her that he went to do some fishing this morning."

Reporter
"So no one else would have moved the vehicle from the yard?"

Vehicle Owner
"No one else as far as I know, when we looked in the vehicle the key was in there. So, I am not too sure exactly what happened, but the key was in the vehicle, and the police had to open it with some device, and they took the vehicle to the police station."

While back at La Croix Boulevard - residents say they are disturbed by the way police officers were randomly firing shots in the area. They say they heard at least 50 gunshots in this morning's shootout - some of those bullets pierced through their walls - entering their homes.

10 people reside in this one yard alone. They showed us there bullet riddled walls and gave us their story of this morning's terrifying episode.

Reporter
"There were some bullets fired through portions of your daughter's house?"

Area Resident #1
"Yes."

Reporter
"Tell us about that. Was she inside with her children?"

Area Resident #1
"Yes, of course she was inside. About 13 bullets."

Reporter
"Nobody got injured?"

Area Resident #1
"Nobody got injured; Praise God."

Reporter
"Did they take out a man from out of your yard?"

Area Resident #1
"Yes."

Reporter
"Do you know him?"

Area Resident #1
"We couldn't see anything because like I said, we went out on the street, and afterwards the police had the place swarmed. They told us that nobody is to come into the yard."

Monica Bodden
"About how many people occupy this yard?"

Area Resident #1
"There is a mother, a father and 3 kids back there, and 5 of us live up here too, so 10 in all. We are highly upset. That amount of shots and so many people living in this yard, somebody could have died for us. The police have to be more professional when they come and do their jobs because it is definitely the police shots caught the back house."

Monica Bodden
"This morning, you heard the shots - I understand. Some bullets actually came through your house."

Area Resident #2
"Yes ma'am, right over my bed. It passed through my hallway, and went through the next wall."

Monica Bodden
"About what time did this incident occur?"

Area Resident #2
"I'd say at about 9:30."

Monica Bodden
"So you just heard a lot of shots being fired?"

Area Resident #2
"Yes, this is craziness at the riverside, bullets going off like that, and nobody knew what was happening."

Monica Bodden
"At that time, did you have children inside your home?"

Area Resident #2
"Yes Ma'am, I had my grandchild in there."

Monica Bodden
"Now, I noticed - because you showed me - by one of your bedrooms, you had a little baby on the bed, and I also noticed that bullet hole was -"

Area Resident #2
"Yes, the little baby on the bed is for my neighbor. She lives closer to the river where the thing was happening, so I told her to come inside and bring her baby here."

Monica Bodden
"About how many shots you think you heard this morning?"

Area Resident #2
"Miss, I don't know if it was more than a hundred, exactly, but it was definitely more than 50. And it was high-powered weapons they were using too."

The bank reported to police that $230,000 dollars were stolen, but so far police have only counted $160,000 thousand dollars and were still counting.

First Caribbean Bank issued a press release today saying that the Belcan Branch will remain closed until further notice.

The bank says that no members of staff and no customers were physically injured during the robbery. Counseling services have been made available to the branch to assist members of staff who were shaken up.

As for police, they believe others were involved in the robbery. Presently, they are looking for 3 suspects.

Channel 7

One robber shot dead; over $200,000 stolen

The robbers got away in a silver Honda SUV that took them to the area of the roundabout near the Esso Depot where a small skiff was on standby on the banks of the river. But the cops soon caught up with the robbers, killed one and got back about one hundred and sixty thousand dollars cash in Belize and US currency. Seventy thousand dollars is still unaccounted for. Police also believe that they have the getaway vehicle. But the community in the area of Lacroix Boulevard where the robber was shot, say the police fired indiscriminately. News Five's Delahnie Bain has this side of the heist.

Delahnie Bain, Reporting

This morning's robbery was well planned; a getaway vehicle was standing by to take the armed men as well as the loot to the area of the American Imports store on the Northern Highway. A small skiff and driver were waiting on the river behind the store for the big escape. But police were hot on the chase and caught up with the robbers as they made their way into the water. A shootout ensued and one of the thieves, twenty year old Alberto Benito Assi, was fatally shot by police. An eyewitness recounted the shooting but did not want to appear on camera.

Voice of: Eyewitness

"I saw one boat with about four men inside the boat and I saw some other people over the other side who I recognized as police officers. I didn't know what they were telling the guys them but all I see is that the four of them jumped out the boat, the four of them jumped out the boat and started to swim. After that I heard so many bullets. I don't know where all those bullets come from but I hear so many bullets. The one weh get shot dead, was coming close to the shore and while he enter, as he enter the shore, he got a bullet in his feet and he fell on the ground. When he fell on the ground and he was trying to crawl and get up back to run or I don't know what, he get another one in his back, which left him in our backyard dead."

While a criminal was caught, the hail of gunshots was a nightmare for the residents on the other side of the river. Two of the many angry residents of Lacroix Boulevard complained about the bullets that penetrated their walls while they were inside with children. One woman told us that she is so traumatized by the incident, she is contemplating moving.

Voice of: Lacroix Boulevard Resident

"My sista mi di sit down side ah me, five months pregnant, den my three months baby mi di lay down side a me pan di chair and my two next baby mi di play when I hear di gunshot. But I neva know dah gunshot, I mi think dah di lee Christmas thing dehn. But when I hear my friend di holla. Noh come out, noh come out den I hear bullet di pass through and through. I lay down pan di ground and I grab my three months baby and I put ah pan di ground and lay down top a ah. When I holla weh happen, weh happen. Oh God help me, weh happen. My lee baby holla oh God mek ih done, mek ih done. After when we noh hear anything we come out."

Andrea Polanco

"How many of you were inside this house at the time?"

Voice of: Lacroix Boulevard Resident

"Five ah we; my three pickney dehn, di next gial weh pregnant and me."

Andrea Polanco

"So now that you have looked around your home, approximately how many areas do you see were penetrated by bullets?"

Voice of: Lacroix Boulevard Resident

"Thirteen. Yeah."

Andrea Polanco

"So that means that one of you guys could have been hit if you hadn't taken to the floor."

Voice of: Lacroix Boulevard Resident

"Yes, dah God help we."

Kelvin Myers

Kelvin Myers, Lacroix Boulevard Resident

"Dats why my old bwai di build wah cement house right now fi dehn same situation yah because den yah dah plywood, den yah dah plywood, thing wah buss through deh. Den he short like dis, he noh really tall. If dah mi wah tall person like me or my big bredda, blam we mi wah get it. Weh mi wah happen funeral? We mi gwein just like dat? Ih noh gwein like dat. We just pray fi betterment and thing fi Belize eena 2012 and beyond mein, noh dehn nonsense yah mein dig. My lee sista and my lee bredda dehn deh dah school but some lee infant, some lee baby weh my old lady di tek care ah but dehn deh low and thing. Everybody get low, everybody frighten. People di haul machete, people frighten. Yoh get di sense. From me, I deh way out but my mind deh pan my family now cause ih di come from my side."

Delahnie Bain

"Where inside of the house did it come through?"

Kelvin Myers

"Through my old bwai room. Fi he bed deh right yah so and through fi he room. If he mi stand up or deh pan fi he bed or something blam he mi wah get it. den dehn noh wah come tell me, noh mein me noh into dat mein."

A team of police officers also headed to Belama where the suspected getaway vehicle was found at a house on Antonio Soberanis Street. The mother of the vehicle owner says that as far as she knows, her daughter's boyfriend, Albert Clother, had parked the Honda Passport in the yard because it was malfunctioning. But she soon got a call from her neighbor saying that police were at the house.

Voice of: Belama Resident

"I wasn't too sure on what happened. When I spoke to my daughter she says that she took the vehicle to work and then the gentleman came for the vehicle because the vehicle wasn't working properly and he came and parked it in the yard. She left for work usually between seven-thirty and quarter to eight, she took the vehicle this morning and then he came for it like little after eight and he brought it up here and parked it."

Delahnie Bain

"Where is he now?"

Voice of Belama Resident

"I understand from her that he went to do some fishing this morning."

Delahnie Bain

"And no one else would have moved the vehicle from the yard?"

Voice of: Belama Resident

"No one else as far as I know. When we looked in the vehicle, the key was in the vehicle and the police had to open it with some device so that they took it out and they took the vehicle to the police station."

The Belama resident says she didn't find anything strange about the vehicle, but police has several suspicions. Those included that the SUV was locked with the keys inside, but the resident says it's the third time Clother has done that.

Voice of: Belama Resident

"They said that because the gentleman left the key in the car, because the light was on in the house because we had to break down the back door because they wanted to get into the house to see what was there and the light was on. All of those things they said don't add up; I don't know. There was nothing found in the house, nothing strange. The house was in kind of uproar because they are moving."

Delahnie Bain

"Was anything found in there when police searched it?"

Voice of Belama Resident

"Not as far as I know. Everything that was in there was my daughter's uniform, her bag, the baby's floater that they went to bathe on Sunday, that was on the chair. Nothing strange that I saw. Nothing looked strange to me because if four people were in that vehicle, I think things would have been shoved aside or put to the back but everything looked the same in the back of the car seat as far as I am concerned."

But up to the time of our interview, Clother could not be located.

Voice of: Belama Resident

"We are trying to reach him and apparently he doesn't have his phone on him. My daughter tried and police stopped her because they said she's not supposed to be using a phone right now so we just rest it. We tried to reach the young man that came for him this morning but he is not answering."

Marion Ali, Love News

"What are the police alleging; that Mr. Clother was involved in this robbery?"

Voice of: Belama Resident

"Well, not exactly they are not saying that but they are saying that they have to do their work. The vehicle that they suspected headed up Belama way and looked like it and when they came here this morning they saw that vehicle and so they stopped here and that is what they are saying."

Police took the vehicle into custody for further processing. Delahnie Bain for News Five.

Police are investigating the possibility that more than four robbers were involved in the heist. So far no one has been apprehended.

Channel 5



Separate bank heists, one suspect killed

First Caribbean bank robbery ends with one robber fatally wounded. This morning police responded to reports that the First Caribbean International Bank San Cas branch located in Belize City was robbed. Police reports are that 4 men entered the bank sometime around 9am. The men held up the teller and stole a bag with an undisclosed amount of money. The robbers then proceeded make an escape up the Northern highway and at mile 2 they headed in the direction of the Belize old river. But with the help of civilian and police special constable, a hot pursuit led to a fiery exchange of fire between the police and culprits and in the end, one man was dead. Officer in charge of the Eastern Division, Assistant commissioner of police Elodio Aragon, outlined the events as it unfolded at a police press conference.

Elodio Aragon, Assistant Commissioner of Police
Today at approximately 9 a.m., information was received that the First Caribbean Bank located at the San Cas Plaza was being robbed. Upon this information being received from the Police Control Room, police officers were immediately dispatched to the location. Quick police response and coordination, along with corporation from the members of the public resulted in a police pursuit of the suspects, where officers encountered four of the robbery suspects making their way across the river on a small fiber glass vessel at the Ventura Roundabout opposite the La Croue Boulevard on the Belize River. Upon seeing the police officers, the four suspects opened fire at which time the police returned fire which resulted in one of the suspects being fatally wounded. The other three suspects escaped on the opposite side of the river. We have confirmed the identity of the deceased robber as that of one 20 year old Belizean Albert Benito Asi. It is believed that one of the three suspects who escaped received gunshot injuries. Police were able to recover two nine millimeter pistols with several rounds of ammunition along with two bags containing an undisclosed amount of cash believed to have been the proceeds of the robbery. A vehicle has also been impounded as part of this investigation along with a small fiber glass vessel. We are looking for several other suspects who we believe can assist in this investigation.

Another bank is making the news tonight as it was broken into early this morning. Reports to plusnews is that at about 3:15 this morning, Heritage Bank in Independence village was broken into. The thieves gained access by removing glass blocks from the wall facing the main street. Apparently a sledge hammer was used to gain access to the building and the bank's vault. We have not received any information on how much if any money ws stolen. Reports to us are that the intruder was a clear complexion person.

PlusTV

Bank Robbery Update: Police Recover 190K, Two Suspects In Custody

Police have recovered over one hundred and ninety thousand dollars that was snatched in a daring, bank robbery yesterday morning at the Firs Caribbean northside branch in Belize city.

It happened at 9:00 am in one of the busiest areas of town - near the Belcan roundabout. Four bank robbers held up the bank went into the safe and walked out with two bags of money.

Police responded - and ended up killing one of the robbers - while also recovering what appears to be most of the money and two handguns.

Here's the latest on the police investigation:

Jules Vasquez Reporting

All this money accounting to almost two hundred thousand dollars - this small vessel and this Isuzu Rodeo - are the key pieces of evidence recovered in yesterday's bank robbery.

Inspector Hilberto Romero - Investigator, First Caribbean International Bank Robbery
"Investigation revealed that they entered the bank armed with firearms, and they held up the tellers. They proceeded into the vault area where they made off with two bags with an undisclosed amount of cash."

So far police have counted 192,776 dollars that was recovered from the vessel along with two firearms.

The men were forced to jump out of the boat, unarmed after they got into a fierce firefight with police who had them trapped on both sides of the river.




ACP Elodio Aragon - OC Eastern Division
"The police officers acted justifiably out there, and the person that was shot was definitely a part of these suspected robbers. And I must tell you that also within the vessel, it was where we recovered the 9mm weapons, and likewise an undisclosed amount of money."

Albert Assi is believed to have been incapacitated by a gunshot in the boat - and was shot dead by police once he got across to LA Croix Boulevard.

The killing has raised some public ire, but police maintain that it was a justifiable use of deadly force.

ACP Elodio Aragon
"The police officers acted justifiably. They came under fire at the onset of them being seen by these suspected robbers. And the police responded in kind."

So far two men have been detained - and police have positively identified a number of the robbers from reviewing security tapes at First Caribbean.

While the original figure from the Bank to the police was that two hundred and forty thousand dollars were stolen - police say that was just an estimate from bank which will have to reconcile that figure.

Channel 7

Man Wanted For Bank Robbery Says It Wasn't Him

And as we told you in that's story two men have been detained. They are from the Darren Banks crew in the Lake Independence area. One more man who is wanted is Brandon Battery Smith.

This morning, he told us that police want him for the robbery - and he knows the people who did it - but was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The police saw him near the drug store - across from the Bank while the robbery was occurring so now he is a wanted man. Today he told us via cell phone that he's lying low until Monday:..

Brandon "Battery" Smith - Via Telephone
"I don't want to go because they already sent me to jail innocently for a murder. I know that they are always taking advantage of me. I was going to give up myself, but today is Friday. So, I am not on that neither."

Jules Vasquez
"Were you in the area at the time of the bank robbery?"

Brandon Smith
"I was in the area. I was across the street. I went to to the drugstore and I was buying"

Jules Vasquez
"So you are saying that you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Brandon Smith
"Yes, but they don't see it so."

Jules Vasquez
"Did you have any involvement with those persons who robbed the bank?"

Brandon Smith
"I know them, but that doesn't mean anything, Ever man does their own thing."

Jules Vasquez
"Are they people that you used to associate have associated with, who are in any crew that you link with?"

Brandon Smith
"Well, when I see them, I still stop and talk to them. We are friends."

Jules Vasquez
"Did you have any knowledge that they were going on a bank robbery?"

Brandon Smith
"If I knew that, you think that I would go across there, to buy?"

Smith recently got off a murder charge...

Channel 7

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