Prison for pair who carried stolen wine “like bags of swag”

Saturday 22 August 2020

Two men who carried more than £500 worth of stolen wine in hotel pillow cases as if they were “bags of swag” have been sent to prison.

In the Royal Court on Friday, Robert Ian Keeble (40) was sentenced to 16 months at HMP La Moye while his co-defendant, Damien John Michael Stearn (32), will spend 14 months in prison.

The court heard that the pair went to Beachcombers Hotel in Grouville, on 16 March. Stearn had a room there over the winter but had still been choosing to sleep rough in car parks and woods. He had returned with Keeble to shower and freshen up.

That evening, while Stearn was sleeping, Keeble went to the empty hotel bar and stole 27 bottles of wine, worth £549.50, which he put in four pillow cases taken from the room. At 06:00, the pair were seen leaving the hotel holding the full cases by a chef, who could hear the sound of bottles clinking together. 

Pictured: Robert Keeble and Damien Stearn.

They caught a bus into town and, just a short time later, were seen asleep in a stairwell of Patriotic Street car park.

Later that morning, after the theft was discovered, the pair were arrested in the Parade.

Keeble later admitted illegal entry and theft while Stearn admitted receiving the goods knowing they were stolen.

Defending Keeble, Advocate Julia-Anne Dix said that it had been an opportunistic theft: “They carried the wine like swag over their shoulders and then used the bus to get to town, for which they had to ask others for money to pay the fare,” she said. “This was not a sophisticated case of dishonesty.”

Pictured: Beachcombers Hotel in Grouville. The manager had been approached by Social Security, who told him Stearn was homeless. The manager agreed to give him a chance and offered a winter let. Credit: Google Maps.

For Stearn, Advocate Sarah Dale said: “My client was not aware that the wine had been taken from the hotel bar. He accepts that when Keeble asked him to carry the pillow cases, he heard clinking but he did not look inside. He also accepts that the bottles may not have been legitimately sourced. 

“He also admits that he did not have authority to take Keeble there and he abused the hotel manager’s trust in this regard. His motivation was to help Keeble out by allowing him to use the shower and sleep for a short period.”

In sentencing, Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae, who was sitting with Jurats Thomas and Ronge, told “rootless” Keeble that his risk of reoffending was high and he hoped that he would face up to his problems with drugs and alcohol in prison.

Pictured: Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae described Keeble as "rootless".

To Stearn, Mr MacRae said that the Court recognised that he was not the “prime mover” for the offences committed at Beachcombers, but they were serious enough to warrant a custodial sentence. 

“We read that you are a talented artist and we hope you can make use of that in custody,” he said.

In addition to the theft of wine from the hotel, Keeble also was sentenced for stealing a bottle of whisky from Morrisons Daily in Kensington Place on 18 February. Meanwhile, Stearn was sentenced for receiving a bottle of wine stolen from a flat in the same street on 15 October 2019.

Pictured: Keeble also is due to face a charge of grievous bodily harm without intent in York Crown Court. Credit: Google Maps.

The Court also heard that Keeble, who had been in the island for a few months before his first arrest, was wanted by York Crown Court to face a charge of grievous bodily harm without intent, in his native Yorkshire after skipping bail.

He will return to the UK to face that charge after serving his sentence in Jersey.