Man steals Les Paul from his blind, one-legged father

A MAN stole £3,250 worth of items from his blind dad to pay off debts. Ricky Jones, 18, of Broad Oakes, Halifax Road, Hipperholme, was the registered carer for his dad, Douglas, who also has a prosthetic right leg.

Jones Jnr stole a laptop, an LCD TV and a Gibson Les Paul guitar and he admitted the theft at Magistrates’ Court in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, UK.

Waseem Raja, prosecuting, said Douglas Jones had been blind for 22 years and was dependent on carers.

Mr Jones’ eldest son spotted the three items were missing and confronted Ricky Jones. The pair began to argue and Douglas Jones – who had been unaware the items were missing – called the police.

Mr Raja said: “Douglas Jones states that the defendant told him he had taken the items over the course of a couple of months and sold them for drug money.”

He said the laptop was worth £500, the TV £250 and the Gibson Les Paul guitar was worth £2,500. The court heard Jones had taken the guitar to a pawn shop where he had received £200.

Jones, who was not represented in court, admitted to police that he took the items and had sold them to pay debts. Mr Raja said: “He said his intention was to purchase the guitar back, however he ran out of time.”

Source: http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/