A York man has been spared jail after he admitted stealing more than £8,000 worth of health and safety equipment from his ex-employer.
Carl Turnbull, 42, was employed in a health-related services department at the University of York, where part of his role was to order respirator face masks, head top units and gloves, York Magistrates’ Court heard.
An internal investigation by the university revealed that Turnbull had been stealing respiratory equipment from the department’s stock room and selling the items on eBay.
Turnbull – whose role was to ensure stock levels of such items were fully maintained – was called in by his bosses and admitted stealing items worth £8,650. The offences occurred between February and April 2023.
He was duly arrested and charged with theft by employee. He admitted the offence and appeared for sentence yesterday (Wednesday, 18 June).
Prosecutor Alison Whiteley said that Turnbull had stolen Versaflo respirators, head top units and gloves over a three-month period.
He had been employed at the university, initially in a different role, since January 2014. Since 2022, he had been responsible for ordering equipment including the respirator units from the university’s supplier.
Ms Whiteley said it was discovered that some of the receipted deliveries were not properly recorded and may have been “intercepted”. Concerns had also been raised about missing stock.
“It was discovered that there was an eBay account linked to the defendant’s email (address) that was selling respirator and head units direct to people from eBay,” she added.
The university launched a 12-month investigation which found that 75 items, including 12 respirator head top units, had been ordered using Turnbull’s log-in details.
Suspicious transactions
Analysis of Turnbull’s bank account showed a series of suspicious transactions.
Ms Whiteley said that when Turnbull was initially asked about the eBay account by university bosses, he changed his account name.
He was duly reported to police, arrested on Christmas Eve and made full admissions about stealing the items and selling them online.
Turnbull, of Westfield Road, Market Weighton, resigned from his post as soon as he had been caught out.
His solicitor Lee-Anne Robins-Hicks said that Turnbull had financial difficulties at the time and, with his debts “spiralling out of control”, he stole from his employer out of “financial desperation”.
These debts had arisen from a loan he had taken out to finance renovations at his home and were exacerbated when Turnbull became the sole breadwinner in the household.
As the debts escalated, and with the face masks “effectively there for the taking, it was too much of a temptation” for Turnbull, added Ms Robins-Hicks.
Since resigning from his university post, Turnbull had found new work in the animal-feed industry on £26,000 a year.
He was now subject to an IVA, or Individual Voluntary Arrangement, whereby he would pay back the £10,000 debt over time.
Malcolm Dodds, chairman of the magistrates’ bench, said that Turnbull’s “very serious” offence would ordinarily be met with a jail sentence because he had breached a “high level of trust” placed in him by the university.
However, having heard the mitigation and probation representations, he said the bench had decided to step back from a custodial sentence.
Instead, Turnbull was given a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work. He was ordered to pay a reduced £660 to the university by way of compensation but no costs due to his limited financial means.