Former Comex store manager avoids jail after admitting to stealing over $4,900 from employer

Published by [email protected] at May 12, 2025

Posted: Monday, May 12, 2025. 8:02 pm CST.

By Breaking Belize News Staff: A former store manager who admitted to stealing more than $4,900 from her employer has been spared jail time but must pay a fine or face imprisonment.

30-year-old Maritza Isabel Padilla, once the store manager at Belize Comex Paint Ltd., appeared before Magistrate Ludlow Black in Belize City’s Court #1 on Monday morning where she was formally charged with two counts of theft.

Padilla pleaded guilty to stealing $4,421.63 in December 2024 and $537.80 in November 2024, both while employed at the Albert Street branch of Belize Comex Paint Ltd. The thefts were discovered during a year-end inventory, which revealed discrepancies in invoices and unaccounted cash.

In court, Padilla admitted that she had taken the money but had planned to repay it before the inventory took place. “I knew the money was missing and I thought I would have replaced it before they found out,” she told the court. But her plan backfired when the inventory happened sooner than expected.

The court heard that the larger sum involved goods delivered to General Mart in Benque Viejo, with payment collected by the driver and given to Padilla—but never deposited into the company’s account. The second instance involved a customer deposit from Lalos Welding Services, which was instead made into Padilla’s personal bank account.

Magistrate Black acknowledged that this was Padilla’s first offense, noting her clean record and her willingness to take responsibility. However, he emphasized that the case involved a serious breach of trust.

“She made the company carry out a full investigation while remaining silent,” he said, before imposing a fine of $1,000 plus $5 cost of court—to be paid by June 30, 2025, or she faces six months in prison.

The magistrate warned Padilla not to appear before the court again on a similar charge. “You were shown leniency today, but there may be no such mercy next time,” he cautioned.

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