Father and son who ‘forgot to pay’ for Fortnum & Mason champagne are cleared of theft
A FATHER and son have been cleared of stealing champagne from Fortnum & Mason after the younger man told a court he was rushing to complete a JP Morgan job application.
Douglas Vallender, 52, and Jack Vallender, 18, were alleged to have swiped champagne from the Piccadilly department store in London’s West End on May 1 2017. The Cornwall-based businessman and his son walked out with the bottles of bubbly worth £348 without paying.
The jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on one count each of theft after 48 minutes of deliberations.
It was claimed the pair entered the store at about 12.15pm and smuggled out the champagne before being stopped in the street. Prosecutor James Cartwright said that it was a ‘‘thought out and planned theft’’ but the Vallenders insisted they had forgotten to pay.
Jack Vallender told Southwark Crown Court that he was in a rush to fill out an application for an internship with banking giant JP Morgan. He said: “By sheer accident we walked out the store and we forgot to pay.’’
Referring to his son, Mr Vallender said: “He was getting in a bit of a flap and I said, ‘OK, OK’ and we walked straight out of the shop, never batted an eyelid and all the rest of it.’’
His son said: ‘‘JP Morgan is one of the top firms for investment banking. If I could get my foot in the door, that would really help me.
“If I could get that internship, that would be massive. I was worried about not having enough time to do the application.”
David Campbell, defending Douglas Vallender, told jurors that the pair admitted walking out of the shop with the bottles but they “made a mistake”.
“The fact is that they are human,” Mr Campbell said.
Speaking outside the courtroom, Douglas Vallender said: ‘We are very grateful that the correct decision was reached. It has caused a lot of hurt and upset to the family.”