Drone Tracks Repeat Offender in Latest Gun Bust
Police say a familiar name is once again at the center of gun violence in Belize City, after twenty‑year‑old Devaun Garcia, who has walked away from serious charges before, was arrested with a loaded nine-millimeter pistol he allegedly tried to toss while running from officers. Investigators didn’t rely on luck this time; it was a police drone that reportedly tracked Garcia as he bolted through George Street, switched shirts, and threw an object over a fence moments after shots were fired in the South Street area. When officers followed the trail, they said they found Garcia hiding under a wooden structure, and the weapon he allegedly ditched not far from him: a Girson 9mm pistol loaded with thirteen live rounds.
This afternoon, Garcia appeared alone in the lower court, facing charges for keeping an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. He pleaded not guilty and asked for a sentencing indication, but when told the offense carries jail time, not a fine, he held firm to his plea. The Senior Magistrate, noting the seriousness of the charges, said she had no choice but to remand him to the Belize Central Prison until April sixteenth. What makes today’s arrest even more troubling is Garcia’s history. As a teenager, he was accused, along with another young man, of murdering eighteen‑year‑old Eaton Thompson, a Mahogany Heights student killed while running a simple errand for his mother. That case collapsed midway through trial when the crown’s key witness vanished, leaving Garcia and his co‑accused to walk free. And just weeks ago, Garcia had secured bail in an armed robbery case involving a holdup on the BelChina Bridge. He was already due back in court next month for that charge. Tonight, instead of waiting for his next hearing, he’s back behind bars, caught once again in the middle of a violent incident, and raising hard questions about how many chances someone gets before the system finally catches up with them.
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