Sandhill man sent to prison over $600 in old unpaid Court fines after being caught in abandoned building with crack

By Breaking Belize News Staff: A Sandhill man is behind bars, not for a new drug possession charge, but because of old unpaid court fines that came back to haunt him during his arraignment.

Fifty-four-year-old Gregory Albert Tillett, a labourer of Sandhill, appeared unrepresented last Wednesday before Magistrate Neeshad Mohammed in Court #5, where he was charged with possession of an undetermined amount of crack cocaine.

The charge arose from a police search conducted on June 18, 2026, on Southern Foreshore in Belize City.

Tillett pleaded guilty and was spared immediate prison time on the new charge. He was fined $350 plus a $5 cost of court and was given until October 30, 2026, to pay. In default, he would serve three months in prison.

However, court records showed that Tillett had several old outstanding fines dating back to 2010, 2014, and 2017. Those included fines for trespassing, theft, and possession of controlled drugs. According to the court, he still owed a total of $665.

Magistrate Mohammed told Tillett that because the fines were many years old, he would have to make a significant payment before being granted an extension. He was ordered to pay at least $365 by the end of the day, after which he would have been given until September 30, 2026, to pay the remaining $300.

Tillett was unable to make the payment, and a warrant was prepared for him. He was then escorted to the Belize Central Prison to serve time for the outstanding fines.

According to police, on June 18, officers searched an abandoned building where Tillett was found. Nothing incriminating was initially found on him, and he was told he was trespassing and instructed to leave. Police say Tillett then walked toward a bag of clothes, which he later allegedly admitted belonged to him.

A search of the bag led to the discovery of several weed roaches and a rock-like substance suspected to be crack cocaine. Police say the suspected crack cocaine did not register a weight on the scale, so Tillett was charged with possession of an undetermined amount of crack cocaine.

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