Leeds construction boss denied knowledge that JCB and Volvo excavator were stolen

Peter Gilroy, of CMG Construction, was caught with a JCB in February 2019 that had been taken from a site in Leeds days before, while a Volvo excavator stolen from a site in Derby four months prior was also found bearing stickers from his company. The 41-year-old appeared at Leeds Crown Court where he admitted two counts of handling stolen goods.

Prosecutor Anthony Moore said the rented 3T JCB was stolen from the site on Pontefract Lane in Leeds over a weekend and was reported missing when workers returned to the site on the Monday, February 18, 2019.

But the machine was fitted with a tracker and was traced to just outside Gilroy’s yard the next morning. When he arrived at the site he was arrested. CCTV recovered showed him driving up to the site with the JCB on the back of a trailer.

During his police interview he said he was given money by a friend to take in the JCB as a favour.

He was also quizzed about the Volvo ECR88D that had gone missing from a site in Normanton in Derby in October 2018. It too was fitted with a tracker and was found at a site in Shipley. Gilroy, of King Lane, Moortown, refused to comment on police questions about the vehicle.

A probation report suggested Gilroy “had no knowledge” that the machinery was stolen. But Judge Simon Batiste said if he had no knowledge, he should have not admitted handling stolen goods.

But no further mitigation was offered by his barrister, Derek Duffy, after Judge Batiste said he would not lock him up.

Instead, he gave him an 18-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, 15 rehabilitation days, 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to pay court costs of £2,800.

He told Gilroy: “It’s clear for it to happen twice, it shows either a rampant disregard for whether these were stolen items or a deliberate attempt to obtain stolen items.”