Petrol thief's sell-on plot to fund drug habit

Andrew Scholey (31), of Cawthorne Close, East Herringthorpe, took his partner’s Jeep without her permission several times - filling it with fuel without paying.

She had been given the car to use while her own vehicle was being repaired, Mr Michael Tooley, prosecuting, told Sheffield Crown Court last Friday.

Scholey (pictured) used the Jeep three times in September to get £273 of petrol without paying.

Mr Tooley said: “On those three occasions he had taken the Jeep motor vehicle without the consent of the owner or the lawful authorities.”

Scholey was arrested and admitted to police that he had stolen the fuel and then sold it to fuel his drug addiction.

He admitted three counts of making off without payment, one of taking a motor vehicle without consent and one of breaching a suspended sentence order at an earlier hearing at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court.

In May, he was given a two-year jail sentence - suspended for two years - for breaking into a house 700 yards from his home.

He was jailed for 12 weeks in November for various offences, including stealing plant pots, which he admitted at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court.

Ms Annette Thomas, mitigating, said Scholey had been due for release on licence on the day of his sentencing hearing.

She said Scholey had admitted that he was heavily reliant on class A drugs and was abusing them on a regular basis.

The offences were committed to fund his drug use, Ms Thomas told the court.

His conviction would have an impact on Scholey’s partner and their young son.

“He knows he needs to change to continue to remain in his son’s life,” Ms Thomas said.

Judge David Dixon sentenced Scholey to 22 months in prison and banned him from driving for a year.

“You will have to do whatever you can to sort yourself out,” Judge Dixon said.

“You have been given a chance and have thrown it back at the court.

“I hope you can turn this around for yourself, your partner and your child. That’s a matter for you.”