Belize City Court drops gun charges against 22-year-old

The Belize City Magistrate’s Court has dropped gun-related charges against a twenty-two (22) year old Mark Stephen Godoy, a resident of Santa Barbara Street. The court determined that he incompetent to stand trial.

According to initial reports, Godoy was charged with two counts - one for possession of an illegal firearm and another for ammunition. He also appeared at the Belize City Magistrate’s Court after his arrest in July 2023.

The suspect was found to be in possession of a Pietro Beretta 9mm chrome with black handle grip pistol which had serial number 192FS on July 1, 2023. He also had ten live 9mm rounds. Out of these, seven were Aguila brands and three were S&B brands.

Godoy had his first court date on July 3, 2023. He told the court that he had mental issues at that time. The court held a competency hearing to determine his ability to understand the charges and to plead.

Senior Magistrate Mannon Dennison conducted the hearing. Clinical psychologist Suzanna Hoy-Mitchell was also present as an expert on Godoy’s mental health. Dr Matus was also invited to testify who did not appear in the court.

After going over the testimony, the court determined that Godoy is not competent to stand trial. The charges were also dropped in the lower court and he was freed of the firearm charges.

The locals are expressing their disagreement with the court on social media. “If he no mentally fit to stand trial, he definitely is not fit to have a gun. Charge him anyway. Half a million people need to be safer than we are. And we have mentally challenged people walking around with unlicensed guns. If you find that he is mentally capable of having fun, give him a license, so it's at least legal,” said Albert Banman on Facebook.