Cop charged for extorting couple at traffic stop

Posted: Tuesday, November 12, 2024. 7:26 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: 38-year-old Ausberto Daniel Pelayo, a police officer originally from Third Street North, Corozal Town, is accused of extortion of a couple visiting Belize.

Pelayo, represented by attorney Sharon Pitts, appeared on Monday and was read the charge, which will be tried with sufficient evidence at the High Court. No plea was taken.

Pelayo is accused of unlawfully obtaining 210 Euros (US$280; BZ$580) from Manuel Ortiz on November 8, 2024 in Belize City while working as a constable of the Belize Police Department, which sum he was not authorized to obtain.

The court released Pelayo on bail of $6,000 and two sureties of $3,000 each which he met by Monday evening. He returns to court on December 23.

Mechanical engineer Manuel Ortiz, 50, of Spain, and Maribel Camacho Vargas, 51, a businesswoman of Guadalajara, Mexico, were stopped at a police checkpoint on Newtown Barracks where they met two officers in a police mobile – one a Hispanic with tattoos; the other of dark complexion.

The pair were asked to present their personal identification and documents for the vehicle, which they had left behind at the Ramada Princess Hotel just down the street. While Vargas went to get the documentation, the Hispanic officer told Ortiz that he could have had them locked up until Tuesday, but “there is another way to deal with it.” He then told Ortiz to hand over some money on the back seat of the police mobile and Ortiz complied, handing over 210 Euros.

They were let go and Ortiz immediately went to make a report at the Queen Street Police Station, identifying Pelayo as the officer to whom he gave the money.

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