Former Minister Edmund Castro pleads not guilty to charges stemming from dog attack on 5-year-old

By Breaking Belize News Staff: Former Belize Rural North Area Representative and former Minister Edmund “Clear the Land” Castro, 61, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to two criminal charges stemming from an alleged dog attack that left a five-year-old boy injured in Maskall Village.

Castro appeared in Court #5 alongside his attorney, Norman Rodriguez, where he was arraigned on one count of negligent wounding and one count of permitting an unmuzzled ferocious dog to be at large.

The charges arise from an incident on August 24 in which five-year-old Kevin Young Jr. was reportedly attacked by several dogs while walking past Castro’s residence in Maskall.

Police said the child suffered bites to his face, head, neck, ears, back and stomach. Public reporting following the incident indicated that the boy was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where wounds were treated and he received two stitches behind one ear before being prescribed antibiotics. His mother later said his face and neck became swollen and that he remained in considerable pain.

During Wednesday’s arraignment, the sitting Magistrate questioned the charges presented by the prosecution, stating, “The charges seem to be duplicitous,” and noting that, based on the facts presented, it did not appear that Castro himself had inflicted the wounds.

The prosecutor indicated that the issue would be addressed when the matter returns to court.

Rodriguez also told the court that the animal in question was a “pup” and said he intends to make several submissions regarding the charges at Castro’s next appearance.

Castro, who had initially been granted police bail, was offered court bail of $500 plus one surety in the same amount, which he met. He is scheduled to return to court on November 10, 2026.

Outside the courthouse, Castro declined an on-camera interview but questioned why he had been charged, maintaining that the dogs involved did not belong to him.

“I nuh understand how deh could charge me when the dogs don’t even belong to me,” Castro said.

That position is consistent with Castro’s response immediately following the August incident. When contacted by 7News Belize at the time, the person identified by the child’s family as the owner denied that the dog belonged to him.

The case remains before the Magistrates’ Court, and the allegations against Castro have not been proven.

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