Pilfering postman is jailed

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/yorknew ... jailed.php

By Megi Rychlikova


Postman Kevin Carter, 48, who stole letters and greetings cards, has been sent to prison for nine months

SCORES of birthday boys and girls never got their cards as a postman systematically pilfered the post for three years, a court heard.

Kevin Clive Carter, 48, stole letters containing greetings so he could pinch the money gifts inside, said John Harrison, prosecuting at York Crown Court.

By the time Royal Mail detectives caught him, using covert cameras, he was snatching 20 cards a week.

Today, he is starting nine months in jail.

"Greeting cards are sent containing sentiments, expressions of love and endearment, and gifts," Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC told Carter.

"It is essential, if nothing else gets through, that such material gets through and is protected. You preyed on these people in the knowledge that they may include small sums of cash."

Ex-soldier Carter, 48, of St Margaret's Road, Knaresborough, pleaded guilty to three charges of theft.

"Postmen occupy one of the most important and responsible positions in the community and are probably more highly respected than lawyers, certainly, and judges," the judge told him.

Mr Harrison said Carter started working for the Royal Mail in 1995. By 2006, the postal service was investigating the disappearance of letters and greetings cards in his delivery postcode in the Harrogate area. But the culprit was never found.

In April 2007, Carter was spotted taking greetings cards from post yet to be sorted and putting them in his delivery. Royal Mail detectives caught him on covert camera and set a trap using 80 postal packages. Carter put seven of them in his delivery bag, although he should not have handled any of them. They confronted him after he returned from delivering a round and found the seven fake letters, plus another 20 cards he should not have had.

Carter confessed that he had been taking up to 20 cards a week since 2004 and that he needed money because he had stepchildren at university.

For Carter, David Bradshaw said he could not explain why he stole from the post. He did not have financial problems and he was not greedy.

Since losing his job at the Royal Mail, he had got a job at a hotel.

The barrister handed in testimonials from Carter's days in the Army.

[Corkhead]

hahahaha i knew this guy last person you would have suspected did everything by the book or so we thought lol couldnt have happened to a better person it made my day hearing this news a few years ago

[Lounge Lizard]

"The barrister handed in testimonials from Carter's days in the Army." - so often they leave military life unable to cope well with the outside world

[TrueBlueTerrier]

"The barrister handed in testimonials from Carter's days in the Army." - so often they leave military life unable to cope well with the outside world

Not of all of us

But the resettlement process is frankly horrific - Like me from Bosnia to civy street in less than 3 months and no help. I did a few stupid things but I did not steal.