A routine patrol along Belize’s Philip Goldson Highway turned into a high-speed vehicle pursuit Sunday that ended with two men – one a prominent local social media creator and the other a Mexican businessman – taken into custody on firearm-related charges, Belize law enforcement authorities confirmed.
When uniformed officers from the Belize City Police Department exited their marked patrol vehicle, they immediately heard multiple gunshots ringing out in the nearby public area. Glancing toward the sound, patrol teams spotted a gray Ford F-250 pickup truck speeding away from the scene along the highway, prompting an immediate pursuit call.
The alert went out to nearby policing units, and officers from the department’s GI3 unit and Precinct 3, who were already operating in the immediate vicinity, moved quickly to set up a containment that brought the fleeing pickup to a stop without further incident.
After the vehicle stopped, two men exited the truck for law enforcement questioning. The first individual identified is 36-year-old Benjamin Eduardo Garcia, who police have confirmed is a well-recognized social content creator with B Media Group. The second man named is Sergio Martinez Ramirez, a Mexican businessman who resides in Hopkins Village.
When officers asked the pair if they had any prohibited or regulated items to declare, Garcia reportedly acknowledged he had a 9mm pistol registered to him in the vehicle. Law enforcement teams located the firearm with Garcia present, completing an on-scene verification of the weapon’s license. Authorities confirmed that one round was loaded in the weapon’s chamber, with an additional 11 rounds stored in the attached magazine.
As of the latest public update, both men have been formally arrested and charged with the offense of discharging a firearm in a public area. No further details about possible motives for the gunfire, or potential additional charges, have been released by police as of this report.