1.20pm - Manager of Gloucestershire supermarket stole £20,000 and blew it in vegas
Michael Wood, 33, has 'turned his life around' and tackled his gambling problem since he first admitted the theft from Somerfirld in Tewkesbury six months ago, Gloucester Crown Court heard.
Earlier this year, the court heard how after all the money had gone, Wood, 33, returned to the UK and gave himself up.
He first took £11,000 from the till of the store on October 27 last year and headed to a casino in Walsall, prosecutor Lisa Hennessy said.
The next day he took another £8,983 from the shop and flew to New York from Birmingham Airport. From New York he headed for the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas, and lost the money over the next three weeks.
When Wood returned to the UK he went to police and confessed what he had done.
Wood, of Orchard House, Stretton Grandison, Ledbury, was back before the court today to learn his fate after having sentence deferred for six months to see how he behaved.
His barrister Nick Fridd told the court today that Wood had kept out of trouble since his first appearance in February and was currently giving two and a half to three hours each week to a gambling anonymous group which he had set up.
Mr Fridd handed the court a folder including a letter from Wood's parents.
Judge Martin Picton said it had been a “risky” decision to defer sentence in February rather than jail Wood then but it had “paid off”.
“We had a deal and I'm going to stick to my side. I'm not going to send you to immediate custody,” said the judge.
The thefts had been detected by store staff when Wood was away. CCTV was then checked and he was seen arriving at the shop, going to the till and taking the £11,000.
Wood had been a manager with Somerfield's for 12 years, the court heard.
He admitted stealing the money from Somerfield's.
Defending Wood at that time, David Chidgey said that his client was a gambling addict but had kept his problem a secret from everyone including his family.
“These offences really are a waste of life after he had built up the trust of his employers over a 12-year period,” he said.
“He had worked his way up from stacking shelves to becoming general manager of a store which was an important one for the company.”
Wood now owed a lot of money to his parents, whose generosity he had abused and whom he had kept his addiction a secret from, as well as credit card companies, Mr Chidgey added.
“He was taking up to £2,000 a month either for on line gambling or at the bookmaker's,” he said.
Judge Picton told Wood: “You let down your employers and you let down your parents appallingly.
“The letter they have written describing how they tried to support you and how you abused that trust makes very sad reading.
“You have also let down yourself. You have made a total mess of your life through your addiction to gambling which led to this reckless behaviour in taking the money from your employers.”
The judge said Wood “mustn't return” to gambling or let the people in his life down again.
He sentenced Wood to 12 months custody suspended for two years, with supervision for 12 months and 150 hours of unpaid work.
He also ordered that he pay £150 towards costs in the next 28 days.
Comment on this story