Belize City Man Fined for Stealing Lobster Tails from Workplace

A Belize City man has been fined in court after admitting he stole lobster tails from his workplace, telling the court he was desperate to find money to help cover his stepdaughter’s school expenses.  Twenty-three-year-old Byron Corliss Tillett appeared before the Chief Magistrate yesterday where he pleaded guilty to a single charge of theft. The court heard that on Monday, Tillett stole twenty-one lobster tails weighing approximately ten-point-six pounds, valued at three hundred thirty dollars, the property of the National Fishermen Cooperative.  According to police reports, officers visited the Cooperative’s processing plant on Angel Lane around 6:45 p.m. after management reported an employee had been caught attempting to smuggle lobster tails from the premises in a bag. A search of Tillett’s black school bag revealed a garbage bag containing the seafood, and he was subsequently taken to the Queen Street Police Station and charged.  In mitigation, Tillett, who was unrepresented, apologized to the court and explained that he committed the offence during a moment of financial hardship as he tried to pay part of his step-daughter’s school bill.  Taking into account his guilty plea and the fact that he is a first-time offender, the Chief Magistrate imposed a non-custodial sentence. Tillett was fined five hundred dollars plus five dollars court cost, totaling five hundred five dollars, with two months imprisonment in default of payment.