They were charged for a brutal drug related murder but tomorrow 65 year old
Adrian Ascencio and 25 year old Ostilio Garcia will be free men. That is because
the murder charge against them was thrown out today. Magistrate Aretha Ford
struck out the case because the preliminary inquiry was scheduled to start today
but prosecutor couldn’t find the case file. But they didn’t just
start looking for that case file today. The case had been adjourned 14 times
because of the missing case file. The court had written to the Police Department
requesting the case file 5 times.
Ascencio and Garcia were charged for killing Jose Armando Perez on January
16th 2006. His body was found on January 18 of 2006 in an area known as Rhaburn's
Ridge at the border between the Belize and Orange Walk Districts. He had been
bound and chopped to the head, and buried in a shallow grave. Police arrested
the pair months later, in March of 2006.
Both men are still in jail tonight because the court needed time to verify
with the prison of the men had any other cases pending. Police believe the murder
was drug related. At the time of his arrest for the murder, Ostillo was already
remanded at the Hattieville Prison for drug cultivation.
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