Prison officer found not guilty over theft

Sam Turton, aged 28, of Hembs Crescent, Hamstead, Great Barr, had denied three charges of theft from HMP Birmingham between 2011 and 2013.

Three property bags with the names of Wayne Melsome, Christopher Hopkins and Thai Haong Nguyen were found by police in a locked safe in the bedroom of Mr Turton in May 2013.

But yesterday he told the jury at Birmingham Crown Court he had discovered the bags, which included a mobile phone and wallet, on a bench at Winson Green metro station in 2012.

The jury took just over an hour to reach a not guilty verdict. Mr Turton placed his hands on in his head in relief after the verdict was delivered.

Prior to hearing Mr Turton take the stand Recorder Mr Christopher Goodchild instructed the jury to find a not guilty verdict on count three which was related to items belonging to Mr Nguyen.

Mr Turton was asked by defence barrister Mr Tom Walkling how he came to be in the possession of the bags.

The defendant said: "I found them at the tram station at Winson Green. It was on a bench on the platform."

Mr Walkling said: "Were you able to see what were in the bags?"

Mr Turton denied he could, adding: "I thought it was one full bag. It looked like it was prison property because of the bag it was in.

"I was being nosey. I put the bag in my coat pocket and I got on the tram. I didn't look at in on the tram. When I got home I saw it was one bag pushed into another. I thought it was rubbish and put it into my cupboard."

The prison guard, who had worked at the Winson Green facility since 2005 before his suspension in 2013, was challenged as to why he kept it in a safe.

He said: "I use the term safe loosely. There were all manner of things in the safe like bits of paper and old cigarette boxes.

"I should have taken the bag back to the prison. It was stupidity."

The defence had highlighted that Mr Hopkins' jewellery, worth around £800, could have only been taken in a 24 hour window between March 5 and March 6 2011 and on both days Mr Turton hadn't been working.

They also said that while there was a six month period that £8,500 worth of jewellery belonging to Mr Melsome was in the prison it would have been almost impossible for Mr Turton to take it out of the jail such were the security measures in place.