In October of last year, 63 year-old Roger Wallis, a British National who has been living in Belize, made headline news when he was charged with 2 counts of attempted kidnapping. His alleged victims, an 8 year-old boy and his 2 sisters, told police that he tried to abduct them in his white van in the City of Belmopan.
He has been attempting to get Supreme Court bail, and on last week Friday, when he tried for a third time, he his application was denied once again. His attorney, Hurl Hamilton, presented his case before Justice Antoinette Moore, and he reiterated that Wallis is not a flight risk because he has properties in Belize, and he has applied for permanent residence with the intention of living here. Hamilton also informed the court that Wallis is a diabetic.
But, Crown Counsel Portia Ferguson objected to bail on behalf of the DPP's Office, and after consideration, Justice Moore upheld that objection. She noted that a preliminary inquiry was held on May 28th, and that Wallis' case has been committed for trial in the October session of the Supreme Court. She added that the likelihood of Wallis absconding increases, due to the gravity of the offences he is charged with, and the severity of the penalty, if convicted. Justice Moore also said that the children in the case are witnesses, and she is not mindful to grant Wallis bail at this time.
As we told you, the charges against Wallis are for an incident that allegedly occurred on September 24, 2018, in Belmopan. Three children, a boy who was 8 years-old at the time, and his two sisters were heading home from school. While they were walking on a street, a Caucasian man allegedly drove up beside them in a white van and offered them a ride.
They reportedly refused, that's when the driver of the van, identified as Wallis, allegedly made a u- turn, returned, grabbed the boy by the hand, and attempted to force him into the van. But, the boy's sisters intervened, and fought off the attempt. This man allegedly gave up and shoved them to the ground, after which, he drove off.
Hamilton first applied for bail for Wallis in October 2018 before Justice Adolph Lucas and Wallis was deemed a flight risk and he was denied bail. But Justice Lucas had ordered that the Office of the DPP conduct a preliminary inquiry so that Wallis' is indicted by April 3, 2019, otherwise Wallis would be able to reapply for bail. That order was not complied with and Hamilton made the reapplication for bail in December 2018 before Justice Marilyn Williams, who denied Wallis bail on the ground that he was deemed a flight risk.
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