The National Exhibit Keeper for the Belize Police Department, Mario Bustillos, has pleaded not guilty to charges linked to gummies that were laced with marijuana, resulting in a number of people, including a five-year-old child being rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) late last month.
Bustillos, who was released on BDZ$7,000 bail, had been charged with 10 counts of negligent harm in relation to the minors who were hospitalized after they ingested the candy laced with marijuana.
As part of his bail conditions, Magistrate Dennison Mannon said Bustillos, 38, is to report to a police station every Monday and is not to come within 100 feet of any of the victims or prosecution witnesses. He is also not to leave the jurisdiction without permission from the court.
Attorney Darrell Bradley said his client claims that the items, which were deposited in the exhibit room, were unlabeled and appeared to be garbage left there for about three weeks.
But the police believe that the negligence of Mario Bustillos’ actions by not following protocol and the improper disposal of the items is what led to the drug-laced candy making its way to the streets and eventually consumed by the minors.
“Clearly, all indications are that a person on his own accord did something without following the procedure that is in place,” Police Commissioner Chester Williams told reporters, adding that the exhibit keeper had not followed the process.
“The thing is…the exhibit keeper is not an amateur. He has been there for a number of years; he knows the process and that is what angers me. He knows. And when you know the process and don’t follow the process and things like this happen, then you have to be held accountable.”
The Belize government has ordered a “full and thorough” investigation that is expected to “determine the source of some sweet treats…that were ingested by a number of children and adults.
“Initial information is that the treats were purchased from two individuals, who are now in police custody along with some recovered items,” the Office of the Prime Minister said in the statement.
