A Northumberland crook secretly used his vulnerable neighbour's bank card to help himself to more than £2,800 in order to fund his drug habit.
David Cowell, also known as Wheeler, and the victim, who suffers from a number of health issues and rarely leaves his house, had been pals for a "long period of time" when he began withdrawing cash from his account. A court heard that the 47-year-old had got himself into debt after relapsing into cocaine and cannabis use when he decided to start stealing the money from his friend over a two-month period.
Between November 2022 and January this year, Cowell used the victim's bank card to withdraw a total of £2,850. However, his betrayal finally came to light and the crook, of Ashwood Road, in Hexham, was arrested.
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Cowell has now avoided a stint behind bars after he pleaded guilty to one count of fraud at Newcastle Magistrates' Court. Instead, he was given a 39-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
Prosecutor Rob Lawson said Cowell secretly used the victim's bank card between November 8 2022 and January 4 2023. Mr Lawson continued: "The complainant has been friends with the defendant for a long period of time and can ill-afford to lose this money.
"There is a position of trust here. The Crown would say £2,850 is a significant amount of money for the complainant. The complainant has a number of health issues meaning he rarely leaves the house. So, the Crown would say he is vulnerable."
Mark Styles, defending, said Cowell had stayed out of trouble since 2014 but had recently run into difficulties after losing both his parents. Mr Styles added: "He relapsed into cocaine and cannabis use and ran into debt and there were threats of serious violence made against him."
Sentencing him, District Judge Paul Currer said he was just persuaded not to send Cowell immediately to prison. The judge said: "It was repeated use of the complainant's debit card to withdraw cash over a period of months. I would say it's passed the custody threshold."
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