Thief stole jewels and cash from own grandmother
A man stole the engagement and wedding rings owned by his deceased grandfather and then sold them to a pawnbrokers after spiralling into debt to a payday loan company, a judge was told.
Jermaine Lewis took the sentimental jewellery as well as £600 in cash from his grandmother, who he was living with at the time, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
The 21-year-old, of Proffitt Street in Walsall, immediately pawned the jewellery claiming it was his own, said Mr Simon Rippon, prosecuting.
He spent the cash at the bookies, but the jewellery was recovered from the pawnbrokers and returned after his arrest, it was said.
Lewis was released on bail pending further inquiries into the offence that was committed between March 3 and 8 but less than three months later he burgled a house in Bloxwich Road, Walsall.
Appearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court, he was given a 15 month jail term suspended under supervision for two years with 100 hours unpaid work after pleading guilty to theft, fraud and burglary.
Mr Gerry Bermingham, defending, said: "He owed £14,000 debts to a payday loan company.
"These do not just grow but accelerate with massive interest rates.
"Those to whom the money was owed had started to badger and hound him with daily threats and he took this extremely stupid way out of the situation.
"He bitterly regrets what he did to his grandmother but the difficulties he had are still there."
The money worries started for Lewis when he lost his job after borrowing money to buy a car and take his girlfriend on holiday, said Mr Bermingham.
The defendant has now got another job as a salesman, sold the car and has started repaying his grandmother.
Judge Amjad Nawaz said: "You (Lewis) were shown charity by your grandmother and repaid that by stealing from her. That was a mean and despicable offence."
