Woman Facing Theft Allegations Asks For Variation Of Bail Conditions To Travel To The USA To Renew Her Honduran Passport

By Alric Lindsay

Nelina McLaughlin- Dilbert appeared in the Summary Court today, July 8, 2026, for a mention of her case involving alleged theft.  The purpose of the mention was to discuss the possibility of varying her bail conditions to allow her to travel overseas while the case is ongoing.

According to court documents, it is alleged that on July 14, 2025, McLaughlin-Dilbert stole CI$2,500 sent to her by Chantalle Blume, a tenant of Oceanside Plantation, the money being the property of Oceanside Plantation.

Regarding the second charge, it is alleged that the September 1, 2025, McLaughlin-Dilbert stole CI$2,000 sent to her by Chantalle Blume, a tenant of Oceanside Plantation, the money being the property of Oceanside Plantation.

Turning to the discussion of varying her bail conditions, the Chief Magistrate said that McLaughlin- Dilbert was “apparently choosing to go to Miami to renew her Honduran passport.”  However, the Chief Magistrate pointed out that “no details of the trip were provided to the court,” including an itinerary and date of the overseas appointment.

McLaughlin- Dilbert’s travel proposal also drew queries from the Chief Magistrate about how many passports were held by McLaughlin- Dilbert since she was supposed to surrender all travel documents to the court.

Responding to the Chief Magistrate, defence attorney Greg Walcolm confirmed that his client, McLaughlin-Dilbert, had only one passport, which she is seeking to renew.

The defence attorney added that McLaughlin- Dilbert “hadn’t yet booked an appointment and she hadn’t yet booked flight time to travel.”

The Chief Magistrate then highlighted that, notwithstanding the defence attorney’s clarifications, the letter seen by the Chief Magistrate did, in fact, refer to specific dates.

After considering comments from the defence attorney, the Chief Magistrate said she was not prepared to consider a variation of McLaughlin- Dilbert’s bail conditions to allow her travel right now because McLaughlin- Dilbert did not give the court “anything to go on.”

The Chief Magistrate added:

In any event, even if I was supposed to be provided with information, she’s going to have to provide me with a surety in place of $5,000.

The case is currently scheduled to return to court on July 23 for a case management hearing.