Stepson who stole £20k guitar out of spite avoids prison

An insurance salesman who stole his stepfather’s £20,000 Fender Telecaster and other valuable music gear was acting out of spite, a court heard.

Samuel Church, 33, rearranged guitars on display at his stepfather Russell Church’s music studio – Seaside Studios in Withdean Road – so he wouldn’t realise some had been taken.

He then hired a car to take his haul of guitars and music equipment, worth an estimated £40,000, to Sheffield, where he sold it to a music shop for two cash payments of £2650 and £4,800.

This week, Lewes Crown Court heard he had been acting out of character after being told how his stepfather had treated his mother in the past.

After hearing he had been saving to repay his stepfather and the shop, Judge Janet Waddicor suspended his prison sentence.

Prosecuting, Shanda McAteer said: “Russell Church realised that some of his guitars weren’t on the walls of his music studio. The remaining guitars had been spaced out to disguise the fact some of them had been removed.

“A large number of other items of musical recording equipment had also gone missing.

“He attempted to find out where the items had gone and looked at various websites and shops which offered items for sale. He found them on a website called Reverb, being sold by a shop called Rich Tone in Sheffield.

“The shop said they had been sold to them a Mr Stanley. This was clearly Samuel Church attempting to hide his real identity.”

Church said: “I would like to apologise for my actions and what I have done. If I was acting rationally I would know there were serial number and this would come back on me. But I wasn’t really thinking straight after finding some information about the past between my stepfather and my mum.

“I dealt with it in the worst possible way. I have lost family over it and friends and respect from people who know me and know what’s happened.”

He said his employers at Legal and General and at his weekend job at Sawyer and Co estate agents were aware of his conviction but were happy for him to carry on working for them.

Judge Waddicor said: “You were disturbed to find out what you had recently found out. You were depressed and anxious and acted out of character.

“Your motive was noti to make a profit, but to spite Russell Church.

“You weren’t very smart about this as the items were tracked down by Russell Church doing his own detective work.”

A number of friends wrote to the court to give Church character references.

Church was given 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months for the theft, and ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work.

He was also fined £500 for the two counts of fraud relating to the sale to Rich Tone.

He had admitted the offences at Brighton Magistrates Court last month.