Chief Magistrate throws out drug charges against two men after their alleged crack couldn’t even register on a scale

By Breaking Belize News Staff: Two men accused of possessing crack cocaine walked free from the Belize City Magistrate’s Court after police were unable to specify the quantity of the suspected drugs allegedly found.

Nelson Torres, 59, of Sandhill, and Emerson Stanford, 67, a Belize City woodcarver, appeared separately before the Chief Magistrate on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, charged with possession of an undetermined amount of crack cocaine.

The Chief Magistrate dismissed both charges, stating that the court could not convict or sentence a person when the prosecution failed to establish the amount of the substance allegedly possessed.

Police alleged that Torres was seen throwing an object to the ground while an officer conducted foot patrol in Taylor’s Alley at around 8:15 a.m. on Sunday, July 12. The officer reportedly recovered a white paper containing several small pieces of a buff-coloured substance suspected to be crack cocaine.

Torres initially pleaded guilty, but the charge was dismissed because the alleged substance was too small to register on the police scale. Before releasing him, the Chief Magistrate warned that the dismissal did not prevent police from arresting him again in the future.

Stanford was accused of possessing a small piece of aluminium foil containing suspected crack cocaine after police stopped and searched him over the weekend. He denied that the item was found in his pocket and said police had instead picked it up from the ground.

His charge was also dismissed because the quantity was listed only as an “undetermined amount.”

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