Daniel Garcia Gonzalez was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for stealing the woman’s iPhone and defrauding her by making false representations.
Having been out with friends on the night of the 16 August, Gonzalez went back to one of their houses, where a group of people were using the woman’s iPhone – which they were all given the pin code to – in order to play music.
In the morning, the victim found that her phone was missing. She used the ‘Find My iPhone’ app to search for it, which showed that the device was still within the property. When asked, Gonzalez told her he didn’t know where it was.
A couple of days later, while checking her bank account, she discovered that a significant amount of money had gone missing.
In total, bank transfers to the sum of £1,420 were traced to the defendant’s account. The phone was never recovered and the money was never repaid.
Pictured: Gonzalez narrowly avoided being sent straight to Les Nicolles Prison.
Defence Advocate David Domaille said his client’s crime had not been pre-meditated and that he “saw an opportunity and took it”.
“He made a series of seriously bad and dishonest decisions,” he told the Court.
He referred the Judge to Gonzalez’ young age and previous good character. He said Gonzalez had attempted to repay £200 in compensation in a show of remorse, adding that Gonzalez’s housing license would be cancelled if the Judge handed down a custodial sentence.
Judge Graeme McKerrell said that anyone who abuses a position of trust “are not welcome here in any event.”
“You have abused a friendship and a position of trust you were put in,” he said. “It was bad enough to take the money but you compounded matters by ditching the phone.”
Gonzalez was given a six-month suspended sentence, which will be triggered if Gonzalez commits any further, relevant offences. He has also been ordered to pay £1,810 compensation to the victim – the full amount taken, plus £390 for a new iPhone.
