Sunday, October 17, 2010

Fugitive Gabriel Salazar handed over to Belizean Police


Belizean fugitive Gabriel Salazar, who was wanted for murder and the Spanish Lookout Scotia Bank robbery, is in Police custody. Salazar, who is originally from San Pedro Town, was placed on a Maya Regional flight from Honduras to Belize and was escorted by immigration and police personnel on Wednesday October 13th.

Salazar was held in Honduras in protective custody to testify in the case against the police officers who shot him and his two accomplices, Benjamin Peters and Alexander Edwards. It is reported in the Prensa Libre Newspaper in Honduras that the three entered Honduras through the Aguas Caliente border station in Guatemala, where Honduran customs officials searched their bags and found guns. The newspaper reports explained that the three men were taken to the police station around 3:00am on Sunday, September 26th and were told that they would be transferred into the custody of the office of the Public Ministry. While they were being transferred, the police officers who were taking them allegedly stopped the vehicle at a place called El Sitio De La Union in the Copán district and ordered them out. The newspaper report further stated that they were made to lie down on the roadside, where they were instantly shot to the head. The officers drove away; leaving them for dead, but villagers of the area took them to a local hospital where the injured Salazar was the only one to survive and was held under protective custody.

Salazar was wanted for the March 30th armed robbery when four men entered the Spanish Lookout Branch of Scotia Bank in Belize and made off with over $300,000.00BZ. During the robbery a KBH security guard, 32 year old Steven Lopez was shot and killed. Salazar and his accomplices managed to evade Belizean enforcement agencies and ended up in Honduras.