A “Good Samaritan” helping who he believed to be a distressed woman has paid a steep price after she stole money and credit cards from his wallet.
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Delphine Charles appeared in Griffith Local Court on Thursday, March 30 charged with larceny and dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, after she duped her victim, a 55-year-old man, back in October.
Charles pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 12 months in prison with a five month non-parole period.
Her victim had just returned to his car, in the undercover car park of Woolworths and Big W, with groceries when he was approached by Charles who ran to the front of his vehicle and asked him for a lift.
Charles appeared ‘quite distressed’, so the man asked her where she needed a lift to, and she asked to go to the East Griffith shops.
He agreed, and after moving his groceries off the passenger seat, Charles got in the car.
As they drove Charles told the man her name was ‘Bella’ and continually engaged him in conversation before asking if he would instead take her to McNabb Crescent.
Complying, the man eventually dropped her at the intersection of McNabb Crescent and MacArthur Street.
However, as he drove away he noticed Charles running down the street and then into a home on MacArthur Street – it was then he noticed his wallet lying open on the passenger seat.
Pulling over he found both his own and his mother’s credit cards were missing from the wallet, as well as $50-$60 in cash.
Driving back to the home Charles had disappeared into, the man knocked on the door and asked to speak to ‘Bella’, but was told by a young man and woman inside the home she wasn’t there and had walked to McDonald’s .
“I want my credit cards returned, Bella has stolen them. I don’t care about the cash,” he told the pair, before getting back in the car and looking for Charles.
When his search didn’t locate her the man returned to the home in a final attempt to have his credit cards returned, telling the man inside he would go to the police station and report the matter if they weren’t handed back.
“If you don’t leave mate I’m gunna [sic] come outside and I’ll bash you,” the man responded.
The victim reported the matter to police, but his credit card had already been used six times in 45 minutes at various retail outlets in the city.
Charles was captured on CCTV footage at one store using the cards to purchase three pairs of Havaianas and a trippin’ wheelie bag costing her victim $194.84 that she had to repay him.
