BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 14, 2017–The prosecution case against a man who was charged with the theft of 3,033 Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) meters crashed in the Magistrate’s Court this week, after the prosecution failed to deliver disclosure, eight months after the accused man was first arraigned on the charge.

Santiago Padillo, a Burrell Boom resident, appeared before Senior Magistrate Aretha Ford yesterday, Wednesday, for the continuation of the theft case against him.

Padillo was first arraigned on the charge that he stole 3,033 of BEL’s meters in April and was denied bail when he appeared before the then Senior Magistrate, Sharon Fraser. He pleaded not guilty to the theft of the meters, valued at $170,000.

Padillo was cleared of the charge yesterday, when the court prosecutor could not provide him with disclosure of the evidence the police have against him.

The prosecutor asked the court for a further adjournment to provide disclosure to the accused man.

Senior Magistrate Ford was of the view that the case has been before the court for eight months and under the new rules, disclosure must be provided within a six-month time frame, extending from the moment in time when an accused person was first arraigned, in order to alleviate the clogging of the court system.

Instead of granting the adjournment, Magistrate Ford dismissed the case against Padillo. Although his case was dismissed, Padillo could still be charged again for the offense.

The theft allegedly occurred between February and April of this year.

(Photo: 7 News)