Dr. Anthony Richardson secures non-custodial sentence for defendant charged with handling stolen goods

Dr. Anthony Richardson has secured a non-custodial sentence for a defendant charged with the offence of handling stolen goods,  at a sentencing held at Woolwich Crown Court on 30 October 2024.

The case concerned the theft of a large amount of assorted goods from a van owned by a well-known retailer that supplies very expensive electronic goods.

Due to the nature and large amount of the goods found by the police at the defendant’s home, the Court suggested that the sentencing range should be, as a minimum, Category 2A of the Sentencing Guidelines – one to four years. Had the Court placed the offence in the Category 1A of the Sentencing Guidelines, the defendant would have been subject to a hefty sentencing range of three to eight years.

When Anthony asked the Crown for the value of the goods, they shockingly replied by saying that they did not have a valuation. The Crown was given time, by way of an adjournment, to obtain a valuation but this proved unsuccessful.

As a result, Anthony was able to successfully argue and convince the Court that the appropriate categorisation ought to be at the very bottom of the Sentencing Guidelines – a non-custodial Community Order.