A 19-year-old man convinced shop staff the television he had just taken from the shelves was an unwanted gift, a court was told.
Conrad Williams was given a £119.99 credit note from staff at B&M Stores in Skipton on December 10, which he then gave to men in Bradford to settle a drugs bill, Skipton magistrates heard.
Staff had only become aware of the theft when they saw Williams taking the television from the shelves on the store’s CCTV cameras. The credit note had been immediately cancelled.
The court heard that at the time of the offence, he was in breach of a six-month conditional discharge for disorderly behaviour.
Williams, of Highfield Terrace, Skipton, who admitted fraud by false representation, was given a 12-month community order with 40 hours of unpaid work, a £60 victims surcharge.
He accepted the breach of the conditional discharge and there was no separate penalty.
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