Licensed gun holder charged with possession of firearm while under the influence

By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): A licensed firearm holder is before the court after police found him armed, injured and smelling of alcohol on the streets of Orange Walk Town over the weekend.

Police report that on Sunday, July 19, at about 11:00 p.m., officers on mobile patrol received information of an armed man with bloodstained clothing walking on Guadalupe Street. On arrival, officers observed a man in a white shirt and khaki three-quarter pants limping toward San Antonio Road with blood on his face and clothing, and with what appeared to be a gunshot wound and a cut to the right side of his forehead.

A search of the man turned up a black 9mm pistol loaded with nine live rounds, while a cross-body bag he was carrying contained a second magazine with three more rounds. The man produced a valid gun license and identified himself as Carlos Alfredo Castellanos, 38, according to initial police reports, a Belizean contractor of Yo Creek Village, Orange Walk District. Officers, however, detected a strong smell of alcohol on his breath, and he was detained for possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol before being taken to the Northern Regional Hospital for treatment.

Initial police investigation suggests that earlier the same night, Castellanos was involved in a struggle with other men at a gas station parking lot on the Belize Corozal Road, during which he allegedly fired a shot accidentally, injuring himself, before walking toward Guadalupe Street.

At the hospital, Castellanos agreed to provide a urine specimen, which was sealed as evidence in his presence. The firearm, two magazines and thirteen rounds were likewise sealed. Following his discharge, he was formally arrested and charged on Tuesday, July 21, with possession of a firearm while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He was cautioned and chose to remain silent.

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