You may remember Joseph Budna from the news recently - he's the good Samaritan who got Belize City resident Oscar Dennis Gonguez out of a Guatemalan Jail.
But on Saturday Budna was the one who needed an emergency assist after he let two dangerous men into his car.
The 30 year old freelance journalist's ordeal started on Saturday night at 7:15. Budna picked up 21 year old Troy Cole at Shell One Stop Gas station. He told police Cole asked for a ride and he took him to the corner of Albert and Dean streets where they picked up a next man who jumped in the back seat.
Budna drove one more block to the corner of Dean street and West Canal - when he says the man in the back seat put an object behind his gun - and ordered Budna to let Cole drive.
Budna says Cole took the wheel and drove around the block to Albert street - while the other man snatched Budna's cell phone and 95 dollars in cash.
Sensing things were going to go downhill after that, Budna took matters into his own hands:
Joseph Budna, Robbed
"Well it happens that the young man says 'drop me where you pick me up from' I cannot recall the exact location, I know it's around the George Street area. I cannot recall the street and before they could open the door to step out the young man sitting behind me, between age 18 and 19."
Andrea Polanco
"That's Troy's brother-law."
Joseph Budna, Robbed
"That's right, apparently his brother in law. He took out what appears to be a 9 millimeter chrome pistol and place it behind my head and he says 'don't do anything stupid, move from there and come over this side' I did that immediately and then as he ordered I sit down on the front passenger seat and Troy passed over to the driver's seat. The man behind instructed Troy what to do, where to go, turn here, turn there."
"The guy who instructed Troy, the other guys were waiting in the other vehicle at the guest house, so they take down Albert Street. It was then that a vehicle was behind us and when that vehicle was behind us they got suspicious and a little jumpy so the gun man at the back told the one at the front to lose this vehicle because the vehicle at the back is following us. So they jump on to Albert Street and went right. When they reach at this white building where you have a road that I think take you to Faber's road and one take that take you to the Governor General House, they saw Operation Jaguar and when they saw Operation Jaguar in front of us they started to panic, when I saw that they were panicking that was when I had the opportunity to jump out of this vehicle and I did jump. I got a little hurt."
Andrea Polanco
"So the vehicle was moving?"
Joseph Budna, Robbed
"The vehicle was moving, I jumped out and shout and Operation Jaguar jump into operation as quick as possible."
Andrea Polanco
"When you jumped from the vehicle that night what kind of injuries did you sustain?"
Joseph Budna, Robbed
"Well I sustained some scrapes here on my knees as you can see. I positioned myself as not to fall on my face because you see these guys got jumpy. I have bruises on my hand here and then on this knee. It's an anti-thief and anti-robbery vehicle that saves me, let me tell you a little bit about the vehicle: when you open the door and the vehicle is moving it
kicks on the alarm and when that alarm goes on it locks you up in the vehicle so it gives them less than a minute to just drive the vehicle, all the glasses were up so automatically it locked these persons in. It locked the doors, lights and shut off the vehicle so they had no choice so they take the firearm and shoot the window, they shoot the right passenger front glass and they jump through the window and managed to escape."
Police picked up 21 year old Troy Cole and today the Curassow street resident appeared in Magistrate's Court where he was charged for robbery. He pleaded not guilty but because the offence is alleged to have been committed with a firearm, Cole was remanded until March first.
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