By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 55-year-old Belize City carpenter is serving a 4½-month prison sentence after admitting that he stole more than $22,000 worth of jewelry and cash from his former employer and pawned off the items, which were never recovered.
Paul Jason Stevens, of a Petticoat Alley address, pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of theft when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Mannon Dennison in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court.
Stevens admitted to stealing a large quantity of jewelry and cash belonging to his former boss, totaling $22,285. The stolen items included several gold and pearl earrings, white gold jewelry, diamond rings, fashion jewelry, and $150 in cash.
According to police, investigations later led officers to JL’s Quick Stop Pawn Shop, where Stevens had allegedly pawned the items. However, by the time police arrived, all of the jewelry had already been sold and none of the stolen property was recovered.
During mitigation, Stevens told the court he had worked for the Medina family for 15 years “in and out” and claimed he resorted to theft because he was not being properly paid for additional work he performed.
“I have been losing money,” Stevens told the court, adding that he felt he had to “get back what they owed me.”
He also detailed several medical issues, including suffering a stroke, enlarged heart, cholesterol complications, acid reflux, and back problems that required surgery. Stevens claimed he received little assistance from his employer during his health struggles and said he was unable to walk for seven months following surgery.
Senior Magistrate Dennison acknowledged Stevens’ mitigation plea and lack of previous convictions but stressed that the court could not ignore the seriousness of the offense and the high value of the stolen items.
The magistrate noted that while Stevens may have believed he was wronged by his employer, he should have pursued a civil remedy rather than taking the law into his own hands.
Dennison initially set a starting point of one year imprisonment, then applied deductions for Stevens’ early guilty plea, remorse, first-time offender status, and other mitigating factors, reducing the sentence to 4½ months behind bars.
Stevens began serving his sentence immediately following the hearing.
The post Belize City carpenter gets 4-and-a-half-months in jail for stealing and pawning out over $22,000 worth of employer’s jewelry; Says they owed him and offered no help when he was sick and needed surgery appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: A 55-year-old Belize City carpenter is serving a 4½-month prison sentence after admitting that he stole more than $22,000 worth of jewelry and cash from his former employer and pawned off the items, which were never recovered. Paul Jason Stevens, of a Petticoat Alley address, pleaded guilty on Monday to
The post Belize City carpenter gets 4-and-a-half-months in jail for stealing and pawning out over $22,000 worth of employer’s jewelry; Says they owed him and offered no help when he was sick and needed surgery appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
