BELIZE CITY, Mon. Nov. 28, 2016–A Belize City man who has over twenty previous convictions was remanded to prison this morning after he was arraigned on charges of burglary and handling stolen goods.
Basil “ET” Willis appeared before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser, who read a single charge of burglary to him.
Willis pleaded not guilty to the charge, but court prosecutor Corporal Christopher Smith objected to the court granting him bail.
Smith submitted that the crime of burglary is prevalent around this time of the year and also that the school was deprived of food that it needs to feed hungry children through its feeding program. Smith also objected to bail for Willis on the strength of the prosecution’s case against him, and the history of the defendant.
“If granted bail, this accused might go out and commit other offences,” Smith finally submitted.
In upholding the prosecutor’s submission, Magistrate Fraser explained to Willis, whom police have accused of burglarizing Grace Primary School between November 23 and 24, that she could not overlook his lengthy criminal record.
“History di come against you, I really cannot ignore what the prosecution has said,” the Senior Magistrate told Willis.
Willis told the court that some of the items that the police are alleging he stole from Grace Primary School were not found in his possession.
Magistrate Fraser, however, upheld the prosecutor’s objection and remanded Willis, 49, to prison until December 22, when he will be brought back to court and bail may be considered at that time.
Police charged Willis with stealing a number of food items, a blender and a crate of soft drinks which together totaled $230 in value.
According to court documents, when police apprehended Willis, he was found in possession of the items. While he was in police custody, the school’s principal went to the police station to report that the school had been burglarized. The school’s principal was able to identify the items that police found in Willis’ possession as the items that were stolen from Grace Primary School.
Willis gained entrance to the school by breaking one of the doors.
In September, Willis walked off a charge of committing an unnatural crime against a 23-year-old man, whom he had allegedly sodomized in the vicinity of the Marion Jones Stadium. The case against Willis crashed when the victim failed to get a psychiatric evaluation that was needed for the case against Willis to go forward.