Richard Bartholomew: SA Police property officer charged with 20 counts of theft
A court has heard allegations that a trusted SA Police property officer nicked PlayStations, a computer monitor, tools and a camera from police lockup over a period of more than 10 years.
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An SA Police property officer has faced court charged with 20 counts of taking items from SA Police property rooms over the course of more than 10 years.
Richard Lloyd Bartholomew, 58, worked as a SA Police property officer and allegedly stole the items from Christie Downs and Edwardstown between 2008 and 2019.
The Aldinga Beach man is charged with aggravated dishonestly take property without consent.
“It is further alleged that the circumstances of aggravation are that the offender abused a position of authority or trust in committing the offence,” a charge sheet said.
The alleged stolen items included various Sony PlayStation models, an iPad, a Canon Camera, Xbox, a HP computer monitor and Bosch, Makita and Milwaukee power tools.
All of the items were valued at less than $2500 each.
Defence for Mr Bartholomew told the court there were particulars of the case that were unclear.
“My client was a property officer and he’s actually booked the property in for destruction and in some cases that might be relevant and some cases it might not be,” he said.
A police prosecutor told the court the allegations related to Mr Bartholomew removing the items from police custody and taking them to his home address.
Magistrate Teresa Anderson said theft could occur in a number of different ways.
“The intention can occur at a number of different times and then you’ve got the issue if there’s a serious encroachment on the owner’s propriety rights,” she said.
“So within the charge itself, there a number of different ways in which the prosecution could present its case when it ultimately gets to trial.”
Police prosecutors and defence for Mr Bartholomew will meet in February for “robust discussion” as part of pre-trial negotiations.