A TEENAGER who was on the way to the job centre stole a camera from an empty train seat and tried to sell it on, a court has heard.
Troy Halford-Brocklehurst, from Strensham, was on his way to Worcester from Pershore on March 11 when he walked through the carriage and picked up the £650 SLR Camera.
The 18-year-old, who studied at Pershore High School, took the electronic device into Worcester and to Cash Converters but staff were suspicious about the circumstances so called the police, the city’s Magistrates Court heard last Friday (May 9).
Halford-Brocklehurst pleaded guilty, on a basis, to the theft of the camera as the item had already been taken from a vehicle in Pershore prior to the defendant finding it on the train.
The court also heard how officers established the camera had been stolen and arrested Halford-Brocklehurst, who denied being in Pershore at the time of the original theft but admitted stealing it from the public transport.
District Judge Nigel Cadbury handed the unemployed teen, who was previously had a chef apprenticeship, a conditional discharge for 12 months.
Mark Sheward, defending solicitor, said: “He was going to Worcester to the job centre to see if he could find work and that was when he saw the camera.
“He accepts responsibility and he regrets the decision he made. He recognises now what he should have done is hand it in to the guard or taken it to the police station.”
Halford-Brocklehurst was caught shoplifting when in 2012 and was given a reprimand when he was 16, the court also heard.
District Judge Cadbury said: “You are still very young and you haven’t got a long record, although I do note you did shoplift in 2012.
“There is a bit of a pattern arising here and you will be dealt with far more seriously on the next occasion if you are back before the court again.”
Halford-Brocklehurst was also ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
