TWO men have been left feeling "stupid" after they faced court for stealing from a business to help a friend.
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Charles Benjamin Ciccocioppo, 21, of Len Black Place, Raglan pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court on May 8, 2024 to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
Cooper Rhiley Akroyd, 21, of Napoleon Street, Raglan also fronted the court to enter a plea of guilty to a related charge of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
Documents tendered to the court state that Ciccocioppo and Akroyd were working a shift at Total Tools in Bathurst about 11am on December 2, 2023 when a friend of theirs walked into the store.
Ciccocioppo took the woman down an aisle before returning to a register with a Milwaukee Rotary Hammer to be served by Akroyd.
They scanned the hammer along with a $50 gift card and then voided the sale of the tool, allowing the woman to get the $500 item for free.
Ciccocioppo paid for the gift voucher before the woman left the store.
It wasn't until December 14 that the witness was made aware of a substantial amount of stock loss for the financial year and caught Akroyd and Ciccocioppo on CCTV handing over the hammer.
It was reported to police, who spoke with Akroyd on February 27 about the theft.
He said it was a pre-arranged stupid mistake and did it to help a friend who was having financial difficulties.
Ciccocioppo admitted to his involvement with a later interaction with police on March 18.
Sentence
THE men, who represented themselves in open court, repeated that they did it out of "stupidity" and it wasn't personal, but rather an attempt to help someone else.
"This isn't in our nature," Akroyd said.
"I'm sorry for doing it, it was an impulse decision," Ciccocioppo said.
Magistrate Carl Milovanovich questioned why the pair hadn't offered to help out of their own pockets, and said they faced potential difficulties with travelling and jobs as a result of the charge.
"Everyone makes one mistake, let this be your only one," Mr Milovanovich said.
Ciccocioppo and Akroyd were both placed on conditional release orders, without conviction, for one year.
Jay-Anna Sleeman
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
