Teen snatched £10,000 cash after watching withdrawal in Walsall bank

Michael Mendez, who was 16 at the time, struck with two other youths who have not been traced, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

He was standing at a cash machine at the NatWest branch in Walsall High Street when they saw 48-year-old Atula Aggarwal being served by a cashier.

She slowly counted out the cash for the customer while the trio watched, explained Mr Marcus Harry, prosecuting.

Mr Aggarwal put the money into his ruck sack and walked down the High Street and through the Asda supermarket to its car park unaware that he was being followed.

He was tailed to his vehicle where he put the bag on the back seat and was about to start the engine when he heard a rear door being opened.

“He turned to see three people running off with his ruck sack and gave chase but despite receiving assistance from a taxi driver lost the thieves,” continued Mr Harry, who revealed that none of the money had been recovered after the theft on June 1 last year.

Mendez, now aged 18, was identified because he had withdrawn money for himself from the cash machine while waiting for Mr Aggarwal to leave.

The bank provided his details for the police.

Miss Katie Fox, defending, said: “This was a spontaneous offence after he had gone to the bank for a legitimate reason.

"They hatched a plot on the spur of the moment and did not use violence as others might.”

She explained he and his family had moved away from the area and he had kept out of trouble.

Mendez, living at Dora Street, Walsall, at the time of the offence, pleaded guilty to theft and was given eight months detention suspended for two years by Recorder Simon King who declared:

“This had a devastating effect on Mr Aggarwal and his family but I take into account you were 16 at the time.

"I believe there is goodness in you even though the facts of this case appear to tell a lie to that.”

The defendant, who has a zero hours contract job, was ordered to pay £1,000 compensation.

Mr Aggarwal, who lives in Walsall, explained after the case that he had withdrawn the £10,000 to repay friends and family who had loaned him money to send to India when his father was seriously ill.

He blamed the loss of his post as a rehabilitation officer for the blind which he had held for 12 years on the theft.

He was still worried about the missing money and underperformed when reinterviewed for the job amid staff cuts, he said.

Mr Aggarwal, now a minimum wage mental health support worker, said: “This has ruined my life. It was a huge amount of money for me and I am in desperate need to get it back.”