By Breaking Belize News Staff: A Ladyville man with a lengthy history of theft convictions has avoided another prison sentence after pleading guilty to stealing two crates of empty bottles valued at just $22.
Eckert Anthony Fitzgibbon, 53, of Partridge Street, Ladyville, appeared unrepresented before a Senior Magistrate in Belize City on Tuesday, October 13, where he admitted stealing the bottles belonging to a woman.
The theft occurred on October 7, 2026, and involved one crate of empty Belikin bottles and another containing empty Guinness bottles, each valued at $11.
Despite his extensive criminal record, Fitzgibbon was fined $500 plus $5 court costs, payable by December 14, 2026, or face three months in prison.
The court heard that Fitzgibbon had numerous previous theft convictions dating back to 2007. The Senior Magistrate considered the age of his previous convictions in deciding to impose a fine rather than an immediate custodial sentence.
Fitzgibbon is no stranger to the courts. In November 2024, he was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to stealing $250 from a woman’s purse at a Ladyville gas station. That conviction was described at the time as his eighth for theft.
This latest case adds another conviction to his criminal record, although the exact total was inconsistently reported in the latest court account.
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