A BRAZEN criminal who turned up to court to be sentenced stole a ￡400 security phone at the entrance and sold it at a market.

       Stefan Wall, 43, was waiting at the security desk at a Crown Court in Manchester when he purloined a scanning phone used to allow legal professionals into the building.

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       Stefan Wall was being sentenced for breaching a restraining order Credit: MEN Media 3

       Minshull Street Crown Court, where Stefan Wall stole a security phone Credit: MEN Media

       The ￡400 Nokia smartphone is used in court buildings globally and scans a code barristers and other professionals use to get enhanced access to buildings.

       The man later sold it at Bury Market for ￡20, Manchester Crown Court heard.

       Prosecutor Nicola Carroll, in laying out her case, said Wall had already been handed a suspended sentence in August 2020 for an office of burglary and taking a vehicle without an owner's consent when he committed the theft.

       The phone-snatching crim appeared in court in November 2020 for breaching a restraining order.

       Whilst waiting to go through security, he stole a smartphone, Carroll told the court.

       She added: "He was later identified by the security staff at Minshull Street and was arrested on June 9.

       "He admitted the theft and said he had sold it. He said he picked it up by accident and decided to keep it and later sold it on Bury Market for ￡20."

       Magistrate Louise Cowen said Wall had committed "a particularly egregious offence".

       She said: "The circumstances he described to me was that he accidentally picked it up, he had attended court to be sentenced and was anxious and he was struggling.

       "He realised he had the phone some time later and made the stupid and foolish decision to keep it and sell it. There was little planning."

       In sentencing, Judge Anthony Cross QC said: "The phone wasn’t of particular value but it was committed inside one of Her Majesty’s Courts, whilst on route to see one of Her Majesty’s Crown court judges.

       "It demonstrates your contempt for the law.

       "This isn’t just a case that involved value - it involved other issues of importance."

       Wall was sentenced to 15 months behind bars.

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       Wall ended up palming off the ￡400 Nokia smartphone at a local market for ￡20 Credit: Alamy

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