A Coleraine man was handed a suspended sentence after he accepted a neighbours delivery package, only to later steal and sell its contents.
At Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Friday, April 12, it was disclosed that Timothy Lyle (31) of Ballysally Road in Coleraine received a suspended sentence for his involvement in an incident in which he accepted a neighbours delivery containing a mobile phone – returned following a repair – which he subsequently sold. DPD attempted delivery of the package to the victim’s residence. The victim was not home then, leading to Lyle signing for the package in question.
Upon the victim’s inquiry with DPD concerning the package delivery, it was verified that the defendant had acknowledged receipt by signing for it under the name of Timothy Lyle. Subsequently, police visited Lyle, who confessed to accepting the package under the mistaken belief that it contained a watch he was anticipating for himself. He mentioned that the DPD driver had later revisited his address to recover the package for return to the delivery depot. However, it was revealed that the package was returned empty.
Further investigation by the authorities led them to a local trade-in shop, CEX Coleraine, where the missing Samsung mobile phone was discovered. Lyle had turned in the phone for trade, and the shop provided the police with details taken from Lyle’s ID during the trading process. During a subsequent police interview, Lyle admitted theft and fraud through false representation.
Commenting on the case, District Judge Peter King told the defendant the incident was “Stupid beyond belief because you were always going to get caught. Not because of any difficult police work, but because you gave your details to the pawn shop essentially, so there was a trail you laid yourself back to your door.”
“There was never any prospect of you escaping detection.”
“You took the phone, kept it, and then developed a plan to make money from it, so there are two distinct elements of your dishonesty. Thankfully, it was a completely and utterly micky mouse attempt to raise money.”
Consequently, Lyle was sentenced to four months in custody, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay CEX £368 in compensation.
