Hello,
I have a 'friend' who's home was raided in 2015 on several occasions. Why his home was raided I don't know, but I expect the police must have had a lead in order to get a warrant. He was arrested on suspicion of burglary and is currently on police bail pending further enquiries.
On his property, £10K worth of stolen industrial gardening equipment was discovered in a stolen trailer. The case went straight to magistrates court, but ended up being adjourned as he said he was able to gather more evidence for proof of purchase. He is due in crown court next month for his trial.
His defence is that he bought the items off gum tree. But when I asked him, he is unable to show any proof of this. He has no receipts, no contact information of the person he bought the items off and also no history on a gum tree account.
Personally, I think he is lying. As I have also discovered he is planning on faking his receipts. I can't imagine false receipts will be seen as real in crown court.
My question is how long would he be looking in prison for stealing £10K worth of industrial equipment. Some of the items have been returned to their rightful owners.
Thanks for reading! Look forward to reading your replies.