A former manager of Costa Coffee has been jailed for 16 months after admitting stealing over £17,000 to fund a gambling habit.
John David Gelling, from Ramsey, was sentenced at the Court of General Gaol Delivery by Deemster Graeme Cook.
Prosecutor Sara-Jayne Dodge told the court that Gelling had been employed as the manager of the store in Parliament Street since 2022, having worked at the cafe since 2016.
Between January 2023 and February 2024 Gelling used his knowledge of CCTV blind spots to pocket cash from the branch, which is operated as a franchise owned by Fancy a Coffee Limited.
Being the person responsible for banking the cash from the store, Gelling delayed doing this and replaced money he took from the next week’s takings.
In February 2024, a shareholder of the business noticed that several weeks’ worth of money had not been deposited and texted Gelling who told them he been “slacking” on doing the banking and said he would sort it.
Police
When that person visited the Ramsey store they found a large amount of cash in the safe and told him to bank it.
However, the next day, on February 28, Gelling went to Ramsey Police Station and told police he had been stealing money from his employer.
The court heard he confessed what he’d done during a “full and frank” interview saying it had started in small amounts but grew as he used it to fund his gambling habit.
He said he decided to attend the police station as he knew his employer would soon discover they were missing money and would report it themselves.
In total, prosecutors said he stole £17,470.97.
I am devastated
Victim impact statement
In a victim impact statement read before the court, one of the franchise owners said the events were “still very raw”, said it had led to them having “difficult trusting people” and impacted on their sleep and mental health.
They added that the theft had left the company having to delay plans to refurbish the store, damaged the company name and led to a large increase in its insurance premiums.
Defence advocate Peter Taylor said his client had held his hands up to his crime and handed himself in.
He added that he hadn’t kept a record of the amount he had taken, but agreed to accept the figures provided by the company.
Mr Taylor said that Gelling’s remorse is “genuine” and had taken steps to address his gambling and drinking and was “ashamed” by what had happened and the impact it has had on his family.
I have a public duty, so far as this type of offending is concerned
Deemster Cook
Sentencing Gelling, Deemster Cook said he had breached his employers’ trust and, while acknowledging his remorse and cooperation with the police, said Gelling had only handed himself in when he knew his crime would be discovered.
Handing him a sentence of 16 months, Deemster Cook said could not suspend the sentence, as he has a “public duty” to hand down a custodial sentence given the nature of the crime.
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