By Breaking Belize News Staff: Well-known Belize City resident Oliver “Spoonaz” Sutherland, 34, walked free on Monday after a Magistrate ruled that there was no case for him to answer to on a charge of being the leader of a criminal gang.
Sutherland had been accused since 2021 of leading a gang identified as Conch Shell Bay (CSB) / the Neighbourhood Bloods Gang. However, shortly after midday in Court #3, the sitting Magistrate acquitted him, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish any nexus between Sutherland and the alleged gang leadership.
The prosecution relied solely on statements from two police officers. Neither officer testified in person, and their statements were instead read into evidence by agreement. After reviewing the evidence, the Magistrate concluded that it was insufficient to support the charge and dismissed the case.
Sutherland, who had sought legal advice from attorney Leroy Banner, told reporters he was relieved that the long-standing gang-related charge was finally resolved. He said he had agreed to the admission of the officers’ statements because, in his view, they contained no evidence linking him to leadership of any gang.
The acquittal comes after a turbulent legal history for Sutherland. He had previously been granted High Court bail of $15,000 with three sureties on the gang charge, but that bail was later revoked after he was charged with kidnapping a 15-year-old minor.
On January 30, 2025, Sutherland pleaded guilty in the High Court to kidnapping and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment suspended for six months, meaning he must remain out of trouble during that period or face imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay $2,500 in compensation to the victim’s father within six months, in default of one year imprisonment.
Despite that conviction, Monday’s ruling means Sutherland is now fully acquitted of the separate allegation that he was a gang leader, bringing an end to a charge that had followed him for more than three years.
The post ‘Spoonaz’ walks free after Court finds insufficient evidence of him as NHB gang boss appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Well-known Belize City resident Oliver “Spoonaz” Sutherland, 34, walked free on Monday after a Magistrate ruled that there was no case for him to answer to on a charge of being the leader of a criminal gang. Sutherland had been accused since 2021 of leading a gang identified as Conch
The post ‘Spoonaz’ walks free after Court finds insufficient evidence of him as NHB gang boss appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
