Convicted BDF Soldier, Police Officer Move to Appeal Prison Sentences

The two lawmen convicted of covering up the 2021 killing of BDF soldier Jessie Escobar are now trying to cut their prison time. BDF Private Ramon Alberto Alcoser and Police Corporal Juan Carlos Morales appeared before Justice Derick Sylvester this morning, where the High Court set their appeal hearing for April twenty‑seventh. Both remain locked up at the Belize Central Prison until then. Alcoser is serving one year and two months, while Morales is serving one year and eleven months, sentences handed down last December after a magistrate found they lied and left out key details in statements following Escobar’s shooting in Santa Familia. Surveillance footage later contradicted their accounts. Today, Morales told the court he will be represented by attorney Alifah Elrington, while Oscar Selgado has been appointed to represent Alcoser. The case is being argued by DPP Cheryl‑Lynn Vidal herself, signaling just how seriously the prosecution views the appeal. The High Court will now decide whether the sentences stand, or whether the convicted officers will get a reduction in a case that continues to draw national attention.

 

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