Herefordshire supermarket boss spared jail term (From Hereford Times)

Herefordshire supermarket boss spared jail term

12:00pm Saturday 9th August 2008 in

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A SOMERFIELD supermarket manager who stole almost £20,000 from his store and went on a three-week gambling spree to Las Vegas has been spared an immediate jail sentence.

Michael Wood, aged 33, had turned his life around and tackled his gambling problem since headmitted the theft six months ago, Gloucester Crown Court was told.

Wood, of Stretton Grandison, went back before the court last Friday after having sentence deferred for six months to see how he behaved.

His barrister Nick Fridd said Wood had kept out of trouble since his first appearance in February and was giving twoand- a- half to three hours each week to a gambling anonymous group which he had set up.

Judge Martin Picton said it had been a risky decision to defer sentence in February rather than jail Wood then but it had paid off.

“We had a deal and I’m going to stick to my side. I’m not going to send you to immediate custody,” said the judge.

Earlier this year, the court heard how after all the money had gone, Wood returned to the UK and gave himself up.

He first took £11,000 from the till of the store in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, on October 27 last year and headed to a casino in Walsall, prosecutor Lisa Hennessy said.

The next day he took another £8,983 from the shop and flew to Las Vegas before losing the money over the next three weeks. When Wood returned to the UK he went to police and confessed what he had done.

Judge Picton sentenced Wood to 12 months custody suspended for two years, with supervision for 12 months and 150 hours of unpaid work.

He also ordered that he pay £150 towards costs in the next 28 days.