It was the third time he had committed such an offence
Jamie Hawksworth pictured at Hull Crown Court(Image: Hull Live)
A cocaine addict brazenly stole items from three different employers during the space of two years in a desperate bid to pay off his out-of-control drug debt. Jamie Hawksworth had already twice been spared prison after two earlier similar offences but his luck finally ran out when he breached a suspended sentence just a couple of months after it had been imposed.
He had been given a “golden opportunity” to avoid prison but he threw it away because he needed quick and easy money, Hull Crown Court heard. Hawksworth, 35, of Hull Road, Hemingbrough, near Howden, admitted an offence of theft by employee on May 21 last year.
Andrew Lister, prosecuting, said that Hawksworth was working at the time for a company. On May 22, it was discovered that several of the company’s tools had gone missing from one of its sites in Rawcliffe Road, Goole.
Other employees, including Hawksworth himself, began looking for the tools. Hawksworth left the site at lunchtime but he later telephoned a manager and said that he had stolen the tools the day before.
He told a compliance director that he would return the stolen tools later but it transpired that he had, in fact, sold them and they were never returned. They included a hammer drill and battery, impact guns and batteries and a rip saw and charger, together valued at about £2,000.
During police interview, Hawksworth admitted that he stole the tools to sell them to pay off his debts. He had convictions for two previous offences of theft by employee.
He had been given a one-year suspended prison sentence, with 150 hours’ unpaid work, at Hull Crown Court on March 24 last year and he had been ordered to pay £10,500 compensation. He was later given a one-year community order, with £6,968 compensation, by York magistrates on October 8 for an earlier theft by employee offence between June 2 and August 8, 2023.
Billy Torbett, mitigating, said that Hawksworth pleaded guilty to the latest offence straight away. “He wishes to express his sincere apologies for, unfortunately, finding himself back before the court again,” said Mr Torbett.
“He knows, and can’t believe, the sheer stupidity of his actions, especially given the fact that he was given an opportunity, a golden opportunity, to say the least. Not only did he make full and frank admissions in his interview, he also had the decency, after committing this offence, to self-report himself to his boss.
“He knows of his wrongdoing and he has recognised that. He knows that it was a grave error on his part and he is going to pay the price for it today.
“There is a breach of some degree of trust. It’s opportunistic.” The latest theft was an “escalation” of his similar offending.
Hawksworth was in “sheer desperation” at the time because of his financial situation following a “messy divorce” from his wife a few years ago. “Regrettably, he turned to cocaine as a coping mechanism as a result of the breakdown of his relationship,” said Mr Torbett.
Hawksworth knew that this was “counter-productive” but it was the only way that he could manage to get up and go to work. His cocaine use led him to accumulate such a large debt that he could not afford his accommodation.
“He was already working and receiving a wage but, quite simply, it wasn’t enough to make any meaningful progress towards clearing the debt,” said Mr Torbett. “He still owed money in respect of the debt and he was ordered by the court to pay extensive compensation.
“He was very fortunate on that occasion to be given a chance to put things right.” Father-of-two Hawksworth had just been offered a “well-paid” engineering job, fixing wind turbines in Scotland, but he realised that he would not now be able to take it up.
Judge Alexander Menary said that it was not a particularly sophisticated offence and, on previous occasions, Hawksworth had stolen items almost impulsively. “On this occasion, he has taken advantage of these tools being available to him and he has stolen them,” said Judge Menary.
He told Hawksworth: “There must have been some kind of planning involved and a breach of trust or responsibility. This is effectively the third time you have stolen from your employer inside two years.
“Due to the repeat nature of the offending, it does seem to me that only sufficient punishment can be achieved by the imposition of an immediate custodial sentence.”
Hawksworth, who had been on bail, was jailed for one year. The prison term included a consecutive six months for breaching the suspended sentence.
At the hearing in March last year, the court was told that Hawksworth shamelessly used his employer’s fuel card to buy more than £10,500 worth of petrol to sell to others. He travelled to a number of towns and cities before cynically using the fuel card to fill up barrels and other vehicles, including his own.
The scam left the company with a “tremendous financial loss” and had a “huge impact” on it, the court was told that day. Hawksworth admitted an offence of theft by employee of £10,552 at Goole.
He started working at an engineering company in February 2024 and, for his work, he travelled all over the country in a company vehicle to install steelwork and mechanical equipment. Every employee had access to a vehicle fitted with a tracker and a fuel card was issued.
Vehicle journeys and fuel costs could be monitored. On July 5, 2024, a company financial officer found during an audit that there were significant discrepancies with the vehicle assigned to Hawksworth and its fuel consumption.
It was discovered that, on numerous occasions between March 28 and July 6, 2024, Hawksworth had bought fuel, valued at £10,552, using the company fuel card. He was not, in fact, using the vehicle at the time and it was parked at the company premises.
The fuel card had been used at places including Chester, Leeds, Thirsk, Sheffield, Worksop and Blythe. Hawksworth was contacted for a meeting and he made admissions. He was dismissed and the police were alerted.