By Breaking Belize News Staff: Police drone surveillance played a key role in the arrest of 20-year-old Devaun Garcia, who is remanded to the Belize Central Prison after a loaded 9mm pistol was allegedly recovered following a Southside shooting incident.
Garcia, a resident of #86 West Street who told the court he works as a product assistant at a well-known company, appeared unrepresented before a Senior Magistrate in Court #2 on Thursday afternoon. He was read two charges: kept unlicensed firearm and kept unlicensed ammunition.
The charges stem from an incident on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, when police responded to reports of shots fired in the South Street area.
According to police, drone footage captured a male person running from the area and later disposing of an object. Investigations led officers to a black 9mm Girson brand pistol bearing serial number T-636808A03354, loaded with 13 live rounds of ammunition.
In court, Garcia pleaded not guilty to both charges and initially asked for a sentencing indication. However, when informed that the offense carries a custodial sentence rather than a fine, he maintained his plea of not guilty.
The Senior Magistrate explained that due to the nature of the firearm offenses, bail could not be granted at the lower court. Garcia was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until April 16, 2026.
Police report that at approximately 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, acting on information of shots fired near South Street and Basra Street, the Precinct 1 Support Team conducted operations in the area.
Information gathered suggested that two male minors had fired several shots at occupants inside a yard at the corner of South Street and Basra Street.
The Fusion Center relayed information from police drone footage showing a male person in a blue T-shirt running along George Street and entering a residence. When officers arrived at the location, cops observed a male in a grey T-shirt jumping over a back fence.
Police tracked the suspect through the area. Fusion Center personnel monitoring the cameras indicated that the individual in the grey T-shirt was the same person earlier seen in a blue T-shirt.
Police say the individual was seen throwing an object over a fence at the corner of George Street and Warrior Pond Street. Officers later discovered a male person hiding under a wooden structure behind a residence. He was detained and searched.
During a follow-up search at the corner of George Street and Warrior Pond Street, officers reportedly observed an object resembling a firearm in a camera patch. The item was retrieved and identified as a 9mm Girson brand pistol loaded with 13 live rounds.
The detained individual was identified as Devaun Garcia.
Garcia is no stranger to the court. On April 28, 2025, he and George Hyde were accused of the murder of 18-year-old Eaton Thompson of Mahogany Heights. However, both men were later freed after the Crown entered a nolle prosequi midway through trial when the main witness could not be located.
At the time of his latest arrest, Garcia had recently been granted $10,000 bail in connection with an armed robbery on Bel China Bridge. He and three others were granted bail on January 14, 2026, in that matter.
Garcia is scheduled to return to court on the robbery charge on March 18, 2026.
The post Southside man remanded to prison after police drone allegedly tracks him throwing away gun used in shooting appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Police drone surveillance played a key role in the arrest of 20-year-old Devaun Garcia, who is remanded to the Belize Central Prison after a loaded 9mm pistol was allegedly recovered following a Southside shooting incident. Garcia, a resident of #86 West Street who told the court he works as a
The post Southside man remanded to prison after police drone allegedly tracks him throwing away gun used in shooting appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
