By Breaking Belize News Staff: Thirty-four-year-old Paulino Jaime of Independence Village is tonight a free man after pleading guilty to harming his mother, bringing an end to a case that kept him on remand for a year pending a psychiatric evaluation.
Jaime, who had initially pleaded not guilty, changed his plea when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Mannon Dennison in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment; however, the court deemed his one year already spent on remand as time served, resulting in his immediate release.
The charge stemmed from a domestic incident on March 17, 2025, involving his mother. According to police reports, she was washing clothes at her home on Craboo Street in Independence Village when her son approached her. After she handed him a sack, he allegedly pulled her hair and punched her, causing injuries later classified as harm by a doctor.
In court, Jaime admitted to pushing his mother but claimed he could not fully recall the events. When questioned by the magistrate, he stated that he had not been receiving medication while on remand.
The court noted that Jaime had been awaiting a psychiatric evaluation for the past year, but no such assessment had been conducted due to the lack of a government-employed doctor. Taking this into consideration, Magistrate Dennison accepted his guilty plea and ruled that further incarceration would be unjust.
Outside the courtroom, Jaime told reporters that he believed his actions were influenced by voices or “spirits” speaking to him at the time of the incident. He maintained that he blacked out and could not remember everything that occurred but expressed relief at being released.
Jaime has since returned home to Independence Village.
The post Pyschiatric patient pleads guilty to punching mother claiming ‘spirits’ made him do it; Set free after 1 year on remand awaiting psych evaluation that never happened but receiving 6 month sentence appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Thirty-four-year-old Paulino Jaime of Independence Village is tonight a free man after pleading guilty to harming his mother, bringing an end to a case that kept him on remand for a year pending a psychiatric evaluation. Jaime, who had initially pleaded not guilty, changed his plea when he appeared before
The post Pyschiatric patient pleads guilty to punching mother claiming ‘spirits’ made him do it; Set free after 1 year on remand awaiting psych evaluation that never happened but receiving 6 month sentence appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
