Darren Jones was described as “greedy and callous” for repeatedly taking money from single mother Hannah Parry, leaving her struggling to provide for her three children.
Jones, 24, of Cybi Close, was sentenced to 28 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, at Caernarfon Crown Court today (April 15).
He initially denied a charge of theft, but later changed his plea to guilty.
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Prosecutor Richard Edwards said that, in December 2022, Ms Parry saw Jones and his then-partner, Sioned Williams, and Ms Parry and Jones started to reminisce about a trip they had made to Paris together in 2014.
Then, in January 2023, Ms Parry’s friend died, after which Jones sought to support her, including by asking her if he could collect her shopping for her.
He went to a shop with her bank card, but while there, he phoned her and asked for the card’s PIN number, claiming the contactless payment method was not working.
Ms Parry, who usually kept her bank card on her sofa in her living room, gave him the PIN code, but in the following months, Jones visited her increasingly frequently.
She never noticed her bank card missing from her sofa, and simply thought Jones’ increasingly frequent visits were “because he wanted to help her”.
But she realised something was wrong in May 2023, when she went to pay for her shopping at the Asda store Llangefni, but her card was declined at the till.
She spoke to her bank, who said her Universal Credit had been paid as normal, but that her balance was little more than £5.
Ms Parry was then informed that a large number of cash withdrawals had been made from her account – she then started to suspect that Jones was responsible.
Jones was confronted, and initially denied his offending.
But he then sent her an Instagram message saying: “I know it won’t make any difference, but I’m terribly sorry. I’ll do anything and everything I can to make this right.”
He also called police himself to admit his offending.
It was established that, from January 2 to May 14, 2023, Ms Parry had £7,808.58 stolen from her.
Ms Parry, whose three children have additional learning needs, said she “now struggles to trust anyone” and is “constantly doubting other people”.
She added that she “doesn’t leave the house anymore”, and feels embarrassed about not being able to pay for her shopping; for instance, she could not buy her daughter a school leavers’ hoodie.
Barclays, her bank, paid Ms Parry £7,134.43 in compensation, leaving a shortfall of £674.15.
Representing Jones, who had one previous conviction for one offence, Elen Owen said he is “genuinely remorseful” for his actions.
But Ms Owen deemed him to have a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, and said Jones himself had told her: “It’s time I man up.”
She said he is in receipt of benefits, but otherwise has “no money”, so paying Ms Parry compensation would be infeasible.
There has been no re-offending by Jones in the two years since, meanwhile, and he has formed a new relationship and is now a father to a six-month-old girl.
Sentencing, Recorder Neil Owen-Casey told Jones that he had shown a “greedy and callous disregard for her circumstances”.
He said: “This is no small level of theft. You saw a very easy opportunity.
“All you thought about was yourself. You preyed upon her, and took complete advantage of the trust she placed in you.”
But Recorder Owen-Casey said he could suspend Jones’ prison sentence because “on balance, your mitigation just about outweighs the aggravating features”.
Jones was also ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work, a mental health treatment requirement, and 20 sessions of rehabilitation activity.
An indefinite restraining order was made to protect Ms Parry.