A shop worker who stole almost £10,000 worth of lottery tickets has been given three weeks to pay the money back to avoid an immediate prison sentence.

David Tooth started running off tickets without paying just weeks after he was held at gunpoint in the Darlington convenience store where he worked.

The 33-year-old was so trusted by the shop owner that she allowed him to help her investigate a stock discrepancy of £49,000, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Jon Harley, prosecuting, said an audit of the accounts of the Blackwell Store and Post Office discovered the missing money and Tooth was identified as being responsible for £9,839.50 worth of the theft.

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He added: “He was spoken to by the owner and presented with the evidence that she had found and, to be fair to him, accepted his responsibility from the outset.

“He was printing off lottery tickets and not paying for them. He was using a ticket with a chance to win but not paying for it when he should have been.”

In a victim impact statement, the shop owner said she felt let down and angry by the actions of Tooth who was a trusted employee at the business.

The judge heard that another person was ‘going through the court system’ in connection with the theft from the business but there was no evidence of a ‘conspiracy’ with Tooth.

Tooth, of Ravensdale Road, Darlington, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft that happened between March 31, 2018, and January 24, 2020.

Jane Waugh, mitigating, said her client had found alternative work to ensure that he was able to save up the money to pay back the cash he stole from the business owner.

She told the judge that her client’s offending started within weeks due to the mental impact of him being held at gunpoint during a robbery at the shop where the perpetrator was jailed for ten-years.

“He didn’t offend indiscriminately, he is offending on the place where the trauma occurred,” she said.

The Northern Echo: The crime scene at the shop in February 2018The crime scene at the shop in February 2018 (Image: The Northern Echo)

Judge Timothy Stead deferred sentence for three weeks to give the defendant time to settle the debt.

He said: “I’m going to defer sentence in the expectation that he will pay this money back. The court needs to be told and see confirmation that the money has been paid.

“If he does that, he will not lose his liberty immediately.”

Tooth will return to court on Monday, December 19, to be sentenced.

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