By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 62-year-old Belize City mason accused of wounding a longtime friend had his guilty plea rejected after telling the court that he acted in self-defence.
Rudolph Humes, of Kelly Street, appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on a charge of wounding his friend on Sunday, July 12, 2026.
Humes initially pleaded guilty, telling the Chief Magistrate that he had punched his friend in the face, causing a cut. However, while explaining the incident, he claimed the man had confronted him with a piece of wooden pallet during a dispute involving a bicycle.
Humes said he had borrowed the bicycle and returned it while his friend was drinking and appeared intoxicated. He alleged that his friend approached him holding the piece of wood, prompting him to strike.
The Chief Magistrate ruled that Humes’ explanation raised the defence of self-defence and therefore rejected his guilty plea.
With no objection from the prosecution, Humes was granted bail of $800, plus one surety of the same amount. He is scheduled to return to court on September 8, 2026.
The post Court rejects elderly man’s guilty plea upon hearing he acted in self-defense while punching his friend in the face over drunken dispute about bicycle appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 62-year-old Belize City mason accused of wounding a longtime friend had his guilty plea rejected after telling the court that he acted in self-defence. Rudolph Humes, of Kelly Street, appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on a charge of wounding his friend on Sunday, July 12, 2026. Humes
The post Court rejects elderly man’s guilty plea upon hearing he acted in self-defense while punching his friend in the face over drunken dispute about bicycle appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
