Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Thieving paramedic faces jail

A PARAMEDIC faced jail last night after stealing bank cards from a heart attack victim and withdrawing £500.

Sick David Wright, 50, rifled through the dead man’s wallet after answering a 999 call, a court heard.

He found a piece of paper with a PIN code and three cards.

But he was caught on a bank’s CCTV still wearing his uniform as he withdrew £500.

He spent it on food, a £200 MP3 player for his wife and £160 for a school trip.

Victim David Denbow, 65, had collapsed dying in his back garden in Sandiacre, Derbys, last June.

Cops treated the death as a suspected murder after the theft was uncovered.

It was “devastating” for Mr Denbow’s family ? who had to re-identify the body, Derby Crown Court heard. But Wright was traced to his work in Stapleford, Notts.

Prosecutor Steven Gosnell said: “Anyone who attends on the scene as a paramedic is to be trusted by society. This was a gross breach of trust.”

Wright, of Ilkeston, Derbys, admitted theft and also pleaded guilty to stealing £40 from another patient in January 2005.

He has been sacked by East Midlands Ambulance Service.

Judge Abbas Mithani bailed Wright but warned a jail term was “likely” when he is sentenced next month.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article25378.ece