Island businessman, 40-year-old William Mulligan has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison after he was charged for discharging a firearm on the beach. On Monday, August 27th, he was arraigned before Senior Magistrate Aretha Ford where he pled not guilty. However, due to the nature of the offense, he was denied bail and remanded until his next court date on October 31, 2018.
The police have not released an official report on the incident, however, close acquaintances of Mulligan have shared what happened on Saturday, August 25th at Secret Beach, one of San Pedro’s popular beaches. According to unofficial reports, a pit bull reportedly attacked Mulligan’s dog, and after several failed attempts to break up the fight, he fired a single warning shot in the air. The sound of the shot scared the pit bull, who then let go of Mulligan’s dog. Witnesses of the incident could not confirmed if Mulligan’s dog was on leach, but they said that the pit bull was lose and happened to appear from nowhere and up to now they do not who the owner of the pit bull is.
They told The San Pedro Sun that they are disappointed in how the police handled the situation. According to them, police refused to take in their statements, and they believe that incarceration was not the best solution as Mulligan was defending his property, an inoffensive potlicker dog that was lucky to survive the attack with minor injuries. Mulligan had apparently adopted his dog after rescuing it some years ago.
During the court hearing, attempts were made to explain that the action was not malicious, but Mulligan could not be granted bail since the offense goes against the Firearms Act section 16. This section states that ‘a person shall be guilty of an offense against this Act who discharges any firearm or ammunition on or within forty yards of any public place.’
Mulligan was then remanded until his next court hearing in October.
