Police Investigate City Robbery and Online TV Scam

Police are investigating two separate incidents reported in Belize District, including a robbery in Belize City and an alleged online scam involving the purchase of a television set.  The first incident occurred last night shortly after ten o’clock. Police say forty-seven-year-old Jose Acavedo, a Belizean Salvadoran laborer of a St. Martin’s area address, was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital suffering from a head injury after reportedly being robbed in the Amara Avenue area.  Initial investigations revealed that Acavedo, who was reportedly under the influence of alcohol at the time, was walking somewhere along Euphrates Avenue or Amara Avenue when he was approached from behind by an unknown individual who struck him to the back of the head, causing him to fall. The assailant then allegedly stole Acavedo’s Samsung cellular phone and three thousand dollars in cash before fleeing the area.  Police visited the scene and are reviewing surveillance footage. Acavedo was treated at the KHMH, and investigators are awaiting a formal statement from him.  In a separate matter, police in Ladyville are investigating a report of online fraud made by fifty-two-year-old Nicolas Jones, a security officer of Ladyville.  Jones told investigators that on April 22 he came across a Facebook page called “Electronica Belize” advertising televisions for sale. After communicating through WhatsApp, Jones agreed to purchase a thirty-two-inch television and transferred one hundred and eighty-five dollars to an Atlantic Bank account reportedly registered in the name of Derek Cadle.  According to the report, Jones was later informed that the television had been cracked and was offered a forty-inch television instead for an additional cost. He then transferred another thirty-three dollars, which included shipping fees, bringing the total payment to two hundred and eighteen dollars.  Jones says that after providing his address and contact information, several attempts to contact the seller failed and he was eventually blocked on WhatsApp. Up to the time of the report, he had not received the television or a refund.  Police have since recorded statements, obtained copies of the transaction receipts, and prepared a request for financial investigation as inquiries continue into the alleged scam.