A CAR thief has finally been punished for his crime – 20 months after the offence.
Michael Thursby, of Primrose Hill Road, appeared before Kirklees magistrates yesterday and admitted stealing the Volvo from a Crosland Moor address on March 17, 2011.
His solicitor Jonathan Slawinski told magistrates that he was baffled by how long the case had taken to come to court.
Alex Bozman, prosecuting, said that the vehicle, worth £800, was stolen overnight outside owner Iain Shaw’s home.
On April 4 last year police were alerted to the vehicle being sold as scrap at Morley Waste Traders’ site in Leeds.
Thursby was identified from fingerprints on the car’s V5 registration document. But the 27-year-old wasn’t interviewed until November 16 this year.
He accepted responsibility, although claimed that he was unable to remember the incident due to his previous alcohol difficulties.
Magistrates ordered Thursby to pay £200 compensation to the car’s owner.
