Stolen goods sold to victim's unsuspecting neighbour

Court hears buyer was an innocent dupe

A HUNGERFORD pensioner was shocked when she found her friendly neighbour had her stolen strimmer, Newbury magistrates heard.

But when victim Sheena Little investigated she found that he had been duped into buying it in good faith, the court was told.

The true villain of the piece was 26-year-old Andrew Thomas Gordon, of Close End, Hungerford, who appeared in the dock on Thursday, last week.

Helen Waite, prosecuting, explained how the bizarre coincidence came about.

She said: “Ms Little, a retired lady, discovered one afternoon that her garage had been broken into.

“The padlock had been forced and a petrol strimmer and several other items had been taken.

“Later on she heard through the grapevine that her neighbour had bought a petrol strimmer. She spoke to him and it turned out to be hers.

“Her neighbour said he had bought it in good faith from Mr Gordon.”

Ms Waite said police interviewed the neighbour and believed his account.

They next interviewed Mr Gordon, who initially insisted he was innocent of handling stolen goods, the court heard.

Ms Waite said: “He said he knew people who come and go from the Hungerford area who had sold him a quantity of items, such as generators, cutters, strimmers and so on.

“He denied that it was he who had carried out the theft. He wouldn’t help police with the names of these people but admitted he had come to realise the stuff was stolen.

“The neighbour, who had indeed bought the strimmer in good faith, is out of pocket £8, having lost his money and having given back the strimmer.”

Mr Gordon admitted dishonestly assisting in the disposal of stolen goods between November 8 and November 18 last year.

He also has numerous previous convictions, magistrates were told, and was given a suspended prison sentence in April 2014, although this has since expired.

Andrew Port, defending, said: “Someone he knew offered him a quantity of gardening items. Within 24 hours he had sold most of them on.

“He clearly should have had a higher level of suspicion of the person he was dealing with and accepts he wasn’t careful enough.

“His record isn’t that bad considering there has been nothing recorded since April 2014 when he received the suspended prison sentence.”

Magistrates fined Mr Gordon £200. They also ordered him to pay £85 costs, a £20 victim surcharge and £8 compensation to Ms Little’s neighbour.