In a recent proceeding at St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Serious Offences Court, a 23-year-old resident of Union Island entered a guilty plea to illegal gun and ammunition charges, marking his first criminal conviction and resulting in a three-year prison sentence. His two co-accused—his parents, 62-year-old Dexter Frogget and 58-year-old Josephine Jones—walked free after prosecutors withdrew all charges against them, following their not guilty pleas. The defendant, Rasheed Frogget, who works as a marine engineer, stood accused alongside his family of possessing an unlicensed Glock 17 pistol and 35 rounds of 9mm ammunition at their Ashton, Union Island residence on June 6 this year. The case traces back to that same day, when local police executed a judicially authorized search of Dexter Frogget’s home, acting on an anonymous tip they received. The search party, led by Sergeant 45 Forde, encountered Jones at the property when they arrived. After identifying himself and their legal search documents, Forde questioned Jones about her husband’s location, shortly before Dexter Frogget emerged from the rear of the residence. Both parents gave formal consent for officers to search the home, and the search began in Rasheed Frogget’s bedroom with all three property residents were present. During the search, investigators uncovered the loaded Glock pistol, marked with serial number BUND419, and the 35 9mm rounds hidden in the bottom drawer of a chest of drawers in the younger Frogget’s sleeping quarters. After seizing the items as evidence and photographing them for court records, Forde placed both Dexter Frogget and Jones under arrest, transporting them to the Union Island Police Station for questioning. The pair were interviewed separately, with a justice of the peace present for each interrogation, and both consistently maintained that they had no knowledge of the unlicensed weapons being stored on the property. One week later, officers brought Rasheed Frogget in for questioning and formal caution. He told investigators that he had found the firearm and ammunition, but had completely forgotten to hand the items over to law enforcement before he traveled from Union Island to mainland St. Vincent for work. All three family members were ultimately arrested and charged with firearms offenses. During Monday’s sentencing hearing, defense attorney Grant Connell argued for a non-custodial sentence, urging Chief Magistrate Colin John to impose only a financial penalty. Connell emphasized that Rasheed Frogget is the primary breadwinner for his family, and asked the court for leniency to give the young first-time offender an opportunity to continue contributing to his community as a law-abiding citizen. The defense further claimed that by holding onto the ammunition instead of allowing it to circulate on the black market, Rasheed Frogget had potentially prevented dozens of deaths that could have occurred if the weapons fell into dangerous hands. Rejecting the defense’s request for leniency, Chief Magistrate John sentenced Rasheed Frogget to 36 months of imprisonment for the illegal possession of the firearm, and an additional 24 months behind bars for the ammunition charge. The two sentences will run concurrently, meaning the young defendant will serve a total of three years in prison. The court also ordered the permanent confiscation of the Glock pistol and all 35 rounds of ammunition. Following the court’s ruling, prosecutors formally withdrew all outstanding charges against Dexter Frogget and Josephine Jones, ending the case against the older couple.
分类： society
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Man seen on video firing gun killed by police
A suspect who went viral on social media for openly brandishing and firing a gun in a state-owned Housing Development Corporation (HDC) residential neighborhood in San Fernando was killed in a gunfight with police on Wednesday.
The incident unfolded after two separate clips of the man circulated widely across social platforms over the previous days. The first footage shows the unidentified man, known locally by the nickname ‘Manny’, walking along a public road in the Cypress Hills area of Union Hall, gripping what witnesses confirm was a silver semi-automatic handgun. The second, more alarming clip captures the same individual approaching a local apartment block, lifting his weapon skyward, and discharging a round into open air.
Once the videos began spreading among local residents and social media users, immediate calls for urgent police intervention flooded in. Community members raised sharp alarms over public safety, noting that the armed man was moving freely through a crowded residential area, putting children, families and passersby at unnecessary risk. Many demanded that law enforcement act quickly to take the man into custody before a random firing incident turned deadly for an innocent bystander.
Responding to the public outcry and official reports of the footage, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service launched a fast-track investigation into the incident. Alongside the viral video evidence, investigators also received separate tip-offs that the suspect had made direct death threats against a serving police officer in the region, and was linked to a string of recent break-ins and violent home invasions in the Cypress Hills neighborhood.
By early Wednesday morning, law enforcement had positively identified the suspect and assembled an tactical unit to take him into custody. At approximately 11 a.m., the police team tracked Manny to Building 32 on Sullivan Extension, located within the Montgomery Circular development in Cypress Hills, where he was located and confronted.
According to official police accounts, the encounter quickly escalated when the suspect opened fire on the responding officers, triggering an exchange of gunfire between the man and the police team. The suspect was struck by gunfire during the confrontation. He was immediately rushed by emergency services to the San Fernando General Hospital, the island’s main public medical facility in the southern region, where attending doctors pronounced him dead shortly after arrival.
Local authorities have not yet released the suspect’s full identity, nor announced any formal timeline for an independent review of the shooting, which is standard protocol for law enforcement-involved fatalities.
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I was only calling on Jesus’ name
A violent home invasion that unfolded in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday has left a 72-year-old St Margaret’s, Claxton Bay resident and her 36-year-old daughter living in persistent fear, after two armed intruders broke into their family home, robbed them of valuables including the pensioner’s life savings, and left the pair bound and terrified for their lives.
The harrowing incident began shortly after 2:30 a.m., when the two women, who were sleeping in separate beds in the same room, were jolted awake by the unknown intruders. Speaking publicly about the attack for the first time during a recent on-site interview, the elderly victim recalled the overwhelming terror of that moment: the first thing she felt was a heavy hand clamped over her mouth, followed by an immediate death threat if she made any attempt to scream for help. The intruders turned next to her daughter, threatening to kill the pensioner immediately if the younger woman refused to comply with their demands. Too afraid to resist, the daughter stayed silent, just as the attackers ordered.
After securing the pair, the intruders used plastic tie-straps to bind both women’s hands to their bed frames, leaving them completely immobilized. Police investigations later confirmed the attackers had gained entry to the property by removing glass louvre panes from an external window, a calculated entry that suggests the robbery was pre-planned. Over the course of the attack, the intruders ransacked every room in the home, turning furniture and belongings upside down in their search for valuables. Among the items stolen were the pensioner’s pension payment held in an envelope, an additional sum of personal cash, multiple cellphones, and other unspecified personal belongings. Once they had stolen everything of value, the attackers fled the property through a front door, leaving the two bound women alone in the darkened home.
In a stroke of luck that spared the pair from further harm, the daughter was eventually able to wriggle free of her restraints. She immediately untied her mother and contacted local police to report the attack. When responding officers arrived at the scene, they confirmed the intruders’ entry and exit routes, and launched a formal investigation into the robbery.
When local media outlet the Express visited the ravaged home on Wednesday, four days after the attack, the elderly pensioner said she has not been able to shake the trauma of the experience. “I was only calling on Jesus’ name. I said, ‘Jesus, help me. This is the time I need you. Let them go with everything, but spare my life.’ And he did. It was terrible, was awful,” she shared, her account still marked by the shock of the violence. She noted that the intruders came prepared for the robbery, knowing exactly what they were coming for. “They came planned to do everything. They take my purse and envelope with my pension,” she said.
Now, as the investigation continues under the lead of PC Duncan, the victim is calling for urgent action to hold the attackers accountable. She said she hopes law enforcement will prioritize the case, and that the courts will hand down strict penalties once the intruders are caught. “I feel they should be more serious with criminals. When they catch them, deal good with them,” she said, echoing a widespread call for tougher action against residential robberies in local communities.
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Attempted robbery suspect shot dead
A would-be armed robber is dead after a violent exchange of gunfire with responding law enforcement during an attempted supermarket robbery in Georgetown, Guyana, late Wednesday, local police confirmed in an official statement updated Thursday. The incident unfolded shortly before 9 p.m. on Mandela Avenue, where three male suspects had already taken two unarmed security guards hostage at gunpoint, forcing the guards to the ground, when an off-patrol police officer stumbled upon the ongoing crime.
When the uniformed officer stepped in to halt the robbery, one of the three suspects immediately opened fire in the officer’s direction, according to details released by the Guyana Police Force. In self-defense and to stop the armed attacker, the officer returned fire using his issued service weapon. Following the shootout, the two unhit suspects fled the scene in separate directions, while the gun-wielding suspect who had shot at the officer collapsed into a roadside drain adjacent to the supermarket.
Law enforcement personnel who responded to the scene recovered a .38 caliber revolver from the suspect, along with three remaining live ammunition rounds and multiple spent bullet casings. Emergency medical personnel and an on-duty doctor were called to the site, where the suspect was examined and officially pronounced dead. The remaining two suspects remain at large as of Thursday’s update, with a manhunt currently underway to locate and apprehend them. Local authorities have not released the identity of the deceased suspect pending notification of next of kin.
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Labour Department to Host Free Health and Wellness Fair on Thames Street
Residents of Antigua and Barbuda will soon have access to a full suite of free health screenings, social service resources, and professional guidance at an upcoming community Health and Wellness Fair, organized by the national Labour Department. Scheduled for Friday, June 12, the day-long public event will bring together a coalition of eight government bodies and non-profit service providers, all opening up their services to people of every age group at no cost.
The fair will operate from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. along the high-traffic corridor of Thames Street, a central location designed to maximize accessibility for local residents. Clinical services will lead the offerings: the Ministry of Health and Medical Benefits will administer a full range of complimentary general health screenings, while the national AIDS Secretariat will bring confidential HIV testing and personalized counseling for attendees seeking information or support.
Beyond core medical services, the event will address a wide range of pressing social and public health issues. SPARC, the national Substance Prevention, Advocacy, Resources and Counseling organization, will share evidence-based information and guidance for both substance abuse prevention and accessing evidence-based treatment programs. The national Human Trafficking Task Force will also set up a booth to conduct community outreach, raising public awareness of human trafficking risks and sharing information on how to report and prevent exploitation.
Economic and regulatory resources will also be on hand for attendees. The Antigua and Barbuda Social Security Board will deploy representatives to walk residents through their existing benefit entitlements and connect eligible community members with underutilized public resources. Officers from the host Labour Department and national Immigration Department will also be on site to answer questions, provide guidance, and resolve concerns related to labour regulations, workplace rights, and a wide range of immigration-related matters.
Event organizers note that the cross-agency fair is built around three core goals: encouraging the broader public to adopt sustainable, healthier daily habits, closing information gaps around the full scope of public and non-profit social services already available to residents, and forging direct, personal connections between community members and the agencies that exist to support them. Admission to the entire event is completely free, and organizers are actively encouraging all community members to take advantage of the range of screenings, one-on-one consultations, and educational resources available throughout the day.
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Regering werkt aan onderwijsplan richting 2035
In closing remarks delivered Wednesday at the 2026 National Education Congress held at Paramaribo’s iconic Hotel Torarica, Suriname Vice President Gregory Rusland announced a landmark government initiative to develop a long-term national education framework that will guide the sector’s strategic direction through 2035.
Rusland emphasized that education must be repositioned at the heart of the country’s national development agenda, moving away from the outdated framing of education as an isolated government portfolio. “Education must become the core engine driving our national growth,” the vice president stated, stressing that sustained economic expansion, meaningful poverty reduction, and broad societal progress simply cannot be achieved without a robust, future-ready education system that adapts to evolving global and local needs.
Over the three-day gathering, education researchers, senior policy officials, and civil society representatives gathered to examine pressing systemic challenges facing the nation’s education sector and co-design potential reform pathways. Rusland confirmed that insights and recommendations from the congress will form the foundational base for the long-term national education vision, a framework intended to outlast individual government terms and secure cross-administration continuity for long-term reform.
Looking at near-term priorities through 2029, Rusland outlined six key focus areas: closing persistent learning gaps that have left marginalized students behind, addressing the widespread teacher shortage across the country, boosting professional recognition and motivation for educators, upgrading aging and inadequate school infrastructure, and expanding equitable access to education services for communities in the country’s interior regions.
A further core priority is strengthening alignment between education outcomes and labor market demand. To that end, the vice president highlighted vocational training, technical education, and entrepreneurship skills development as central pillars of the country’s future education strategy. He added that lasting education reform can only succeed if educators are positioned as central leaders in the change process, calling for improved working conditions for teachers, greater educator participation in policy design, and broader societal recognition of the teaching profession.
Rusland also reiterated the government’s commitment to building a far more inclusive education system that guarantees all children equal opportunity to develop their unique talents, regardless of background or geographic location. In his final address, he urged all stakeholders to move beyond rhetorical commitment and paper reports, urging that the congress’s recommendations be translated into tangible policy actions and implementable public programs. “Real change happens when ideas turn into policy, policy turns into programs, programs turn into action, and action turns into measurable results that improve lives,” Rusland said.
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Leaders Unite to Reject Ethnic Division Over Land Rights
As Belize navigates longstanding debates over historical land claims across the nation’s major Indigenous and ethnic communities, a rare display of cross-community solidarity has emerged to head off growing tensions that threaten to split the country along ethnic lines. Leaders from three of Belize’s most prominent population groups—the Maya, Garifuna, and Kriol communities—have jointly issued a call for unity, emphasizing that competing historical land claims do not need to devolve into ethnic conflict. Each group continues to stand firm in advancing its own unique historical claims to territory, but all have rejected efforts to frame the ongoing national conversation around land rights as a battle between ethnic identities.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Belize’s Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, has echoed this unifying call, reinforcing the shared history of cooperation that has defined the country since its founding. “We certainly want to keep in mind that we’ve worked all together as different ethnic groups. We’ve worked very hard to build Belize, right, from the fight for independence all the way through to today. It’s been because of the hard work, the sacrifice of all of our people coming together,” Zabaneh said in remarks published as part of a national evening newscast.
The minister stressed that the country’s cultural and ethnic diversity should be leveraged as a source of national strength, rather than a wedge for division. “Now we have to respect each other’s histories and whatever differences we have we really use that as a source of strength, of diversity, right?” he noted.
To create a structured, inclusive space for all voices to be heard, the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs is partnering with the University of Belize to host a national land rights forum scheduled for June 22, 2026. The event will be structured as a panel discussion designed to center perspectives from every major stakeholder group across the ideological and ethnic spectrum. Attendees and panelists will include government representatives, officials from the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Toledo Alcaldes Association, members of the Toledo Lease Landowners association representing third-party interests, delegates from non-Maya ethnic communities, non-governmental organizations focused on sustainable management of Belize’s protected areas, and even delegates from Maya communities that hold differing views on the path forward for land rights negotiations.
Zabaneh emphasized that the forum’s core goal is transparency: to showcase the full range of perspectives on the issue to the Belizean public, rather than pushing a single narrative. He acknowledged that the land rights debate is an inherently delicate and tense issue, requiring careful and respectful engagement from all parties involved. “It’s a tenuous situation that very delicate, and it is incumbent on all stakeholders, each one individually, to work to ensure that we keep our country strong, that we do everything in a respectful way, that we look out for each other, and that we communicate openly, frankly, but respectfully so that we could find common ground because there is common ground. And the most – the basic common denominator is that we’re Belizeans,” Zabaneh said.
This newscast is a direct transcript of an evening television broadcast, with Kriol language content transcribed using a standardized spelling system for accessibility.
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Gunman Targets B&B Employee in Broad Daylight Robbery
Residents of Orange Walk Town are voicing growing anxiety over personal and public safety after a brazen armed robbery attempt unfolded in broad daylight on a public street this week. The incident, which took place on June 10, 2026 along the town’s Baker’s Street, targeted an employee working for Bowen and Bowen, a well-known local enterprise who also serves the area’s bed and breakfast (B&B) community.
Surveillance camera footage obtained from a nearby business captures the entire sequence of the attack. The suspect, who concealed their entire identity behind a full-face motorcycle helmet, snuck up on the unsuspecting worker from behind. Once within reach, the attacker grabbed at the employee’s waist in an apparent attempt to steal personal belongings or cash, forcefully pulling the worker toward them. In a split-second reaction that likely prevented a far more harmful outcome, the employee resisted, broke free of the suspect’s grip, and sprinted into a nearby grocery store to seek safety.
Faced with the employee’s quick escape, the attacker chose to abandon the attempt and fled the scene before any bystanders or law enforcement could intervene. As of the latest public update, no official statement or detailed incident report has been issued by local police departments, leaving many key questions about the case unanswered. The lack of immediate official information has only amplified concerns among local residents, who are now questioning the effectiveness of daytime public safety measures in the town. This incident adds to a growing pattern of street crime reported in small Caribbean towns in recent months, prompting calls for increased foot patrols and expanded public surveillance coverage to deter future attacks.
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Manslaughter Plea Cuts Maurice Usher Sentence to Ten Years
Five years after Geoffrey Crawford disappeared from his Crooked Tree community, a pivotal development has closed one chapter of the long-running homicide case — but left another critical part unresolved for the victim’s family. On Tuesday, High Court Justice Derick Sylvester issued a final sentencing for 42-year-old Maurice Usher Jr., who entered a guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter in connection with Crawford’s death.
The court initially set a 22-year starting term for the offense, but significant adjustments were made to account for Usher Jr.’s early guilty plea and the time he had already served in remand detention. These mitigating factors cut the original proposed sentence by more than half, leaving the defendant with just over 10 years of prison time to serve.
The roots of the case stretch back to September 29, 2021, when Crawford was reported missing alongside his red Nissan Pathfinder. What first appeared to be a simple case of a missing person quickly escalated into a full homicide investigation after a critical tip from a nearby neighbor. The neighbor told investigators he had unknowingly assisted two men with jump-starting Crawford’s vehicle, assuming the men were friends of the owner. But as the pair drove away, the neighbor spotted Crawford lying motionless in the vehicle with visible head injuries, prompting him to contact law enforcement immediately.
Usher Jr. was taken into custody shortly after the incident and originally faced a murder charge. Earlier this year, however, he formally changed his plea, admitting guilt to manslaughter and requesting leniency from the court.
Despite this sentencing, the case is far from complete. A second suspect, 31-year-old Patrick Lloyd Young of Dangriga, was charged in connection with Crawford’s death years after the killing. He remains at the Magistrate’s Court level, and his case has not yet moved forward to a High Court trial. For Crawford’s loved ones, Tuesday’s sentencing brings a small measure of closure, but uncertainty remains until the second suspect faces judgment.
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Teen Footballer Fights for Chance to Walk Again After Being Shot
For 16-year-old Orell Reyes, life shifted from chasing goals on the football pitch to fighting for a second chance at walking in mere minutes. Just one week before his 16th? No, 16-year-old Reyes, a rising young football talent from Pomona Village, Belize, saw his promising athletic future upended on June 2, when a seemingly random shooting left him paralyzed from the waist down, with a bullet still trapped in his spinal area.
The attack unfolded shortly after Reyes wrapped up a routine training session. He stopped to purchase cold drinks for his waiting cousins when two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on the group, in an attack that police have confirmed was unprovoked and appears to have no targeted connection to the teen.
“No motive has been established. However, we are not of the view that any of the injured individuals was the target,” explained Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith, the department’s staff officer leading the preliminary investigation.
Reyes woke up in a local Belizean hospital to a devastating diagnosis: he had lost all sensation and mobility below his waist. Recalling the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Reyes described the disorienting pain that only settled in his upper body, while his lower half went completely numb. “I got pain only in my two hands. From my waist to my foot, dead, dead, dead, pops. I can’t feel nothing. But the pain just deh in my hand. I gone da hospital, and they gave me a little couple drips and two injection that calm down the pain a lee while pops,” he shared in an interview from his hospital bed.
Local medical facilities do not have the specialized capacity to safely remove the bullet lodged in Reyes’ back, with doctors advising that any attempt to extract it domestically carries only a 50% chance of success. The only path forward that could give Reyes a shot at regaining his mobility is specialized surgical intervention at a medical center in Mérida, Mexico – a costly trip that his working-class family cannot afford on their own.
For his mother, Kimberly Estero, watching her teenage son endure endless bedridden pain has been an agonizing experience. She has now issued a public plea to communities across Belize and beyond, asking for any support – whether financial assistance or even just prayers – to help get her son the care he needs.
“Ih hard. Really, really hard and rough. I don’t like to get emotional, but don’t want to see my baby in this pain. It hurt me a lot. I can’t help ah. So I’d really ask Belize from near and far, whoever can help me so I can take my son out of the country, I will really appreciate it. Even prayers, whatever. I need my baby to come out of this pain and, you know, get back on his foot again. He’s very young, just sixteen,” Estero said.
For Reyes, who once dreamed of a professional career in football, his ambition has narrowed to one simple, life-changing goal: walking again. Tired of spending every day confined to a hospital bed, he says he is desperate for the chance to regain his independence.
“I just want a little help to go outside. ‘Cause, like, they told me that they can’t take out the bullet in my back. Here in Belize, ’cause da wa fifty-fifty chance, right? So I ask if they could please help me so I can go outside so they can take out this bullet out of my back, pops, ’cause I tired of laying on my back, pops. So I just really appreciate and ask anybody if they could help so I can at least stand up and walk back pops,” Reyes said.
Despite the overwhelming uncertainty surrounding their son’s future, Estero says she continues to encourage Reyes to hold onto hope and faith that they will secure the support they need. The family is now racing against time to raise the necessary funds to get Reyes to Mérida before any permanent, irreversible damage develops, and they are counting on public goodwill to give the teen his fight back.
This report was compiled from a original televised newscast from News Five, Belize.