By Breaking Belize News Staff: A homeless Belize City man was remanded to prison today after appearing in court on a drug possession charge and bizarrely telling the magistrate that God had placed the crack cocaine in his pocket.
Mark Anthony Beaton, 64, who is well known around Belize City for begging outside the Salvation Army shelter, appeared before the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on a charge of possession of a controlled drug, namely 0.3 grams of suspected crack cocaine.
Beaton, who told the court his address is the Salvation Army Shelter, is often seen sitting on the sidewalk in front of the building asking passersby for one or five cents.
During the arraignment, Beaton pleaded guilty to the charge, which stemmed from his arrest on Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Taylor’s Alley, an area police described as a well-known location for crack cocaine activity.
When asked by the Senior Magistrate for his date of birth, Beaton correctly gave December 27, 1961, but said he did not know how old that made him.
In court, Beaton downplayed the quantity of the substance, saying it was only “a little dust like this,” while using his fingers to indicate a tiny amount.
He insisted he could not even see any crack cocaine and told the court he does not smoke the drug.
In one of the more unusual moments of the hearing, Beaton claimed, “Da God put it in my pocket,” suggesting that the substance police said they found on him had somehow been placed there by divine intervention.
Despite his initial guilty plea, the Senior Magistrate entered an equivocal plea after Beaton’s explanation cast doubt on whether he was truly admitting the offense.
Because he was unable to provide the court with a fixed address where he could reliably be located, bail was denied.
Beaton was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until June 8, 2026, when the matter is expected to return to court.
The post Immaculate Possession? ‘God put the crack in my pocket’ man claims in Court before being banished to prison on remand appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: A homeless Belize City man was remanded to prison today after appearing in court on a drug possession charge and bizarrely telling the magistrate that God had placed the crack cocaine in his pocket. Mark Anthony Beaton, 64, who is well known around Belize City for begging outside the Salvation
The post Immaculate Possession? ‘God put the crack in my pocket’ man claims in Court before being banished to prison on remand appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.