40-year-old man steals from family to fund alcohol addiction

A 40-year-old man from Blurton stole from his own family to fund his alcohol addiction. Such was his craving for alcohol that he did not even spare his grandmother's wedding ring.

The man, identified as Robert Fenwick, had moved in with his mother in March 2020 as he was being treated for alcohol addiction and needed his family's support at the time. Despite that, Fenwick could not help but betray his own family so he could buy alcohol.

He stole £3,500 worth of jewellery belonging to his mum and sister, including his grandma's wedding ring. He then sold the items to cash converters. His mother only found out about what had been happening right under her nose when she found a Cash Converters receipt in her son's room.

The police later found out that he had sold 25 items over the span of several months to a shop. He has now been sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years, at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

"Over the years the defendant's mum has collected items of jewellery. But over time she could not find some of her jewellery," said Prosecutor Elizabeth Power.

"In August last year she found a ripped-up letter in a bag in the defendant's bedroom. It was from Cash Converters. It was addressed to the defendant but it had her address on it. She pieced the letter together and there were details of two charms. She deduced he had sold the charms to Cash Converters to buy more alcohol," Power added.

She subsequently checked her collection and found that several of her jewellery pieces were missing. The woman later found that even her mother's ring had been listed for sale at Cash Converters. The defendant attended a voluntary interview and admitted taking the items and selling them so he could purchase liquor.

In a victim statement, the defendant's mother said that she felt betrayed and ashamed over the fact that her son could steal from his own family, according to report in The Mirror.