Belize City Businessman Fined $6,000 in Marijuana Supply Case

A Belize City businessman has been fined six thousand dollars and given a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply. Forty-six-year-old Evan Michael Gillett appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court yesterday following a police search on Sunday that uncovered one thousand, two hundred and ninety-five grams of marijuana. Gillett and his father-in-law, sixty-nine-year-old retired fisherman Bert Foreman, were jointly charged after the search at a Nurse Seay Street residence. Gillett pleaded guilty, while Foreman pleaded not guilty. Following Gillett’s plea, the charge against Foreman was withdrawn, and he was free to leave.  The magistrate sentenced Gillett to one year and nine months in prison but suspended that sentence for two years. The court explained that a further conviction during that period could result in him having to serve the prison term.  Gillett was also ordered to pay two thousand dollars immediately and the remaining four thousand dollars by June 30, 2027. Failure to pay carries a three-year prison term.  In determining the sentence, the magistrate considered Gillett’s previous drug possession conviction as an aggravating factor and gave him a reduction for his early guilty plea.