A thief who stole a hard-working nurses car was caught after using the nurses’ stolen card to buy himself a brand new widescreen TV.
Anthony Parkin is now behind bars after taking the stolen white Nissan Qashqai on a ‘joy ride’ before deciding to stop off at a Sainsbury’s store in Sunderland.
But the morally corrupt thief’s spending spree was soon halted after a member of staff at the stores Argos kiosk spotted that the card being used by Parkin was registered to a woman.
Parkin tried to waffle his way out of the situation by telling the staff member that the card belonged to his girlfriend.
But unconvinced by the thief’s story, the retail assistant kept hold of the card and told Parkin that only the person named on the card could collect it with appropriate identification.
Security staff then followed Parkin, using CCTV cameras, as he scurried back to the car that he had stolen from the nurse.
The information, including the registration of the stolen vehice, was relayed back to police control room staff, who sent several police units to the area.
It was not long before officers caught up with Parkin, and he was taken into police custody.
Parkin, of Ernwill Avenue, Sunderland, admitted a string of offences including theft of a motor vehicle and fraud by false representation when he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court last week.
He was subsequently sentenced to 14 months in jail.
Detective Sergeant Chris Raper-Smith, of Northumbria Police, said:
“Anthony Parkin is somebody who is well-known to police and has consistently shown a total disregard for the law.
“In the end, his greed got the better of him on this occasion – and after stealing a victim’s car in the dead of night, he also found her bank card and decided to reward himself for his criminal exploits.
“Unfortunately for him, the shop worker at Argos spotted the name on the card and suspected he was up to no good. I’d like to thank the employee for trusting her instincts and doing the right thing.
“Her intervention, along with some excellent work by the detectives who worked on the case, has ensured that Parkin must now serve a custodial sentence and face the consequences of his selfish actions.
“We will never tire of putting burglars and thieves before the courts, and will continue to do all we can to ensure those who bring misery to others are taken off our streets.”
In a statement prepared for court, the nurse whose car and bank card that Parkin stole admitted she was left feeling “sick” by what happened.
Parkin admitted theft of a motor vehicle, fraud by false representation, theft, having no insurance and driving otherwise in accordance with a licence when he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court last Thursday (March 4), but was acquitted of burglary.
He also pleaded guilty to separate charges of fraud by false representation, theft from a motor vehicle and four further counts of theft.
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