A man who stole almost $200 from a Domino’s Pizza restaurant by using stolen credit cards, failed to arrive in court because he was too fat to even get out of his house.
21-year-old Liam Johnstone, who lives in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland, made four separate orders that cost around $50 each, only to then pay for them using a stolen credit card.
Johnstone decided to plead guilty, through his lawyer, to the charge. Alan Jackson told the court that Johnstone found it extremely difficult to leave the house because of his bulky frame, which meant that he was unable to attend court in person.
Jackson went on to note, “The last information I have is that he can’t physically get out of the house even with assistance. I’ve tried to contact him but his phone is switched off so I’m quite happy to undertake to make a home visit.”
After being arrested back in June, Johnstone has failed to attend court on two previous occasions, citing that he is simply “too fat” to get there. Johnstone has been ordered to pay compensation to Domino’s Pizza, after he admitted to committing fraud, and his refusal to appear in court means that the identity of the person whose card he stole is still yet to be revealed.
Despite feeling the need to use stolen cards to buy his food, Mr Jackson admitted that Mr Johnstone actually makes a “reasonable income” from the British benefit system, and confirmed that he will easily to be able to pay back the sum he owes.
John Rafferty, a local police officer overseeing the case, criticised Johnstone, stating, “It seems to me he’s not beyond communicating with if he wants to get in touch with you. A soul and conscience certificate should have been available for today because this has not come as any great surprise to him.”
He continued, “It’s only because I can see huge practical difficulties with him being apprehended by the police that I’ll not grant a warrant in this case.”
Sentencing has now been delayed for two weeks.
[Image via Jaimie Duplass /Shutterstock]