Man stole cash from town club
A SOHAM man narrowly avoided a jail sentence after he admitted stealing money from a town social club and pool league.
Michael Jones, 54, of Churchgate Street, stole £194 from Soham Comrades Club while chairman and £1,330 while running the Soham & District Pool League.
Magistrates sitting in Cambridge told Jones he was “lucky” not to be sent to jail and ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and repay what he stole.
Jones, who pleaded guilty to stealing money from the pool league at an earlier hearing, was set to stand trial on Monday after he denied taking £970 from the Comrades Club.
But the father-of-five entered a guilty plea at the last minute after prosecutors accepted he legitimately used most of that money while refurbishing the club.
Laura Mardell, prosecuting, told the court Jones took £194 from the prize pot of one of the social club’s weekly competitions.
She said: “One of his responsibilities as chairman was to look after the weekly Lucky 8 raffle draw. The winner has the chance to pull the number eight ball from a bag of 13. If they get it they win the cash, if not it rolls over to the next week.
“On September 16 it had been a roll-over and the number eight ball was drawn, but when they went to make payment they found money was missing. It was later established the amount the defendant stole was £194.”
Miss Mardell said a police investigation also revealed he had not been banking money given to him for team subscriptions for the Soham & District Pool League between November 18 2010 and August 4 2011. The league’s newly-appointed chairman revealed they suffered a loss of £1,330.
Charles Snelling, mitigating, said Jones had found himself in a “very difficult” financial situation since the collapse of his business in 2003.
“In relation to the Comrades Club, when he didn’t get any work he would essentially borrow money to supplement his income and when he got a job he would repay it,” he said.
“But work didn’t come in and so he finds himself in this position.”
On passing sentence, Ronald Broadbent, presiding magistrate, told Jones: “You are lucky you haven’t gone into custody for this offence because you were in a position of honesty and a position of trust as a chairman of a club.”
Jones was also ordered to pay £85 court costs.
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