Street hustler steals purse from office desk

It’s a scenario that plays out daily in offices across Belize … grown men and women begging for a handout. But in Magistrate’s court today, one such hustler found himself on the wrong side of the law after he jacked a woman’s purse. Reports are that nineteen year old Akeem Tillett had routinely gone into the offices of Aikman and Aikman on Barrack Road to ask for food and money. But around three-thirty on Wednesday afternoon, employees found their burglar bar door wide open. When they checked around the office, they noticed that a purse was missing from one of the desks. The victim ran into the street, only to see Tillett walking down Hydes Lane with her bag in his hand. Tillett was later detained and today charged with burglary. We understand the accused wanted to plead guilty to theft, but Magistrate Harrison Hulett refused that request and entered a not guilty submission on his behalf. Tillett told the court he has a cocaine problem and wants to go to a rehabilitation centre. He was offered bail of five thousand dollars, which he could not meet and was remanded to Hattieville Prison. The case against Tillett will be heard on April twenty-seventh.