Gang raided hospital computer storeroom
‘Sorry state’ of man jailed for his part in break-in
A BURGLAR has been sentenced for his role in stealing £104,000 worth of new computer equipment from Leicester Royal Infirmary.
Simon Thompson was part of a group that accessed a restricted area at the hospital using an entry code known to just a few people.
The electrical goods were wheeled away on a stock trolley, via a lift, and loaded into a getaway van.
Lynsey Knott, prosecuting, told Leicester Crown Court that, having got into the information technology department, which was closed at night, the thieves forced internal doors and removed a grate to climb into a storeroom.
She said: “The new equipment was awaiting software to be added so it could be used at the hospital.”
The thieves made off with 96 Microsoft Surface Go tablets, 49 HP Elite Desktop PCs, 40 HP Smart Card keyboards, 22 iPads, eight HP Elite 840 G5 laptops, three HP Elitebooks and two CZC work stations
Thompson, 41, formerly of Cavendish Road, Aylestone, Leicester, was arrested after his fingerprint was found at the scene.
He admitted the burglary, on the night of April 24.
The total value of the stolen items was £104,891.
Judge Philip Head said: “This is a massive offence, with careful planning. He’s been recruited into it and he’s played a part.
Passing sentence, the judge told Thompson, who became distressed and put his hands over his face: “You involved yourself in a very serious commercial burglary at a hospital.
“It was committed by a number of people. I don’t know how many, but one of them was you.”
Judge Head said: “It was committed at night with the advantage of inside knowledge.
“It’s clear some persons had access to inside information.
“This defendant wasn’t abusing a position of trust – but someone must have done by feeding on information the entry codes.
“A large quantity of new computer equipment of various sorts was loaded on to a trolley and taken to a lift downstairs and loaded onto a van and taken away.”
The judge accepted Thompson was not the organiser and said: “If the brains behind it were in the dock beside you they’d be receiving a higher sentence.”
Lucy Jones, mitigating, said the defendant’s life was in chaos since 2018, following the breakup of his marriage and the loss of his van-driving job.
He turned to cocaine and matters “spiralled out of control” as he resorted to petty theft to fund his drug use.
Miss Jones said: “He presents as quite a sorry state. He’s a vulnerable character; susceptible to pressure.
“By that stage he was going into bins for his dinner. In two years his life has changed completely.”
Thompson was jailed for two years and four months. about