'Despicable': employee assisting 84-year-old man in wheelchair at airport stole £40 from pensioner
An employee assisting an 84-year-old man in a wheelchair at Belfast International Airport stole £40 from the pensioner in a 'despicable' offence.
Jackie Dixon (25), of Rathkyle in Antrim town, stole the cash from a wallet in a shoulder bag and the theft was caught on CCTV.
Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, was told the pensioner, who has now passed away, was flying out of the airport and required wheelchair assistance.
The defendant appeared at court via video link from a rehab centre near Dublin.
The court was told that when interviewed the defendant, who had no previous convictions, expressed regret and apologised.
The defendant told the court he had been in the job for around four months when the theft was committed on October 18 last year.
A defence barrister said the defendant is in rehab in the Dublin area for substance misuse in relation to cocaine and cannabis.
He said the defendant had "serious addiction issues" since the age of 17 and the addiction "led to this incident".
District Judge Nigel Broderick said it was a "despicable" offence. He added: "This 84-year-old gentleman, frail and infirm, goes to the airport and he is transported by somebody employed by the airport to assist him.
"That person is in a position of trust and that person steals money from him. I can't think of anything worse that you could do to somebody vulnerable like that."
The judge said if it was not for the guilty plea and the clear record the defendant would have been jailed. He added: "This is a despicable offence".
He told the defendant: "This gentleman was vulnerable and frail and you were in a position of trust and you wholly abused that position."
The defendant was given a six months jail sentence, suspended for three years. He was ordered to pay £40 compensation to the deceased's man family.