[ad_1]
SCOTT HAMMOND / THINGS
Former Marvel Jr. nurse Benjamin Clavecilla has been convicted of 32 counts of theft related to credit cards.
A Blenheim nurse who stole a credit card from a dead patient and used it 19 times was convicted despite an attempt to escape.
Marvel Jr Benjamin Clavecilla was a nurse at Wairau Hospital when he took 90-year-old Doris Follows’s credit card after she died on March 29.
He spent $ 773.38 on the card over eight days, which included 12 trips to Countdown, expenses at a Z gas station, Pak ‘n Save Blenheim, a Unichem pharmacy, and credit from Vodafone.
The 46-year-old nurse, who has since resigned, also stole a credit card from an 88-year-old woman, who spent three nights in the hospital in May.
READ MORE:
* ‘I wasn’t thinking straight’ – Former hospital worker admits he stole the dead woman’s credit card due to financial pressure from Covid-19
* A retirement home worker steals an old woman’s credit card
* A repeat thief in a nursing home stole a 91-year-old man’s purse
Stuff
Clavecilla worked as a nurse at the Wairau Hospital in Blenheim.
The day after he was admitted, Clavecilla was filmed filling his car with fuel and buying a pack of cigarettes with the card at another service station, using his loyalty card to obtain a discount.
He used the card at three fast food restaurants, two department stores, two supermarkets, a gas station, a cafe, and a dairy for six days, spending $ 431.04.
Police charged Clavecilla with 19 counts of theft related to the spending of the first victim’s credit card and 13 related to the second patient. She admitted the charges in Blenheim District Court in July.
On Monday, the court heard that Clavecilla moved to New Zealand from the Philippines eight years ago, followed by her family four years later. He had been a nurse for 13 years.
His attorney Phil Watson requested exoneration without conviction, saying Clavecilla had never appeared in court and had acted under “extreme financial pressure” in this case.
“I was just not thinking clearly,” Watson said.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Blenheim police found CCTV footage of a hospital worker using a credit card at various stores.
The court heard that Clavecilla’s wife had two businesses in the Philippines, which had been abruptly stopped by Covid-19, leaving him as the family’s sole source of income.
According to an affidavit provided to the court, the crime was “a desperate but ill-conceived attempt to save face.”
Watson said Clavecilla was extremely sorry and had paid for some repairs. He had met with the 88-year-old victim and her son to obtain restorative justice, and they supported his request for exoneration without conviction.
However, both the police and Follows’ family opposed the discharge without conviction.
While a conviction would not directly affect your nursing career, it would pose “obstacles” for you to advance, Watson said.
As a New Zealand resident seeking permanent residence, he was also concerned about the impact of a conviction on future applications.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Clavecilla was sent until October 19 for sentencing.
Judge Richard Russell weighed the seriousness of the robbery against the consequences Clavecilla would face if convicted, and decided he could not let him go without a conviction.
He said aggravating factors, or those that made the violation worse, included a breach of trust.
He said the victims were vulnerable, as they were “old, frail and sick.”
“One of them died a couple of days after being admitted … you would have known, but you used her cards in the following days regardless.”
He said it was not an “improvised” offense, as both fights took place over “several days”.
Judge Russell said a conviction would have no consequence for their nursing record, which would be in the hands of the nursing council, and the court should not “protect” them from finding out about the crime.
Clavecilla was convicted of 32 theft charges related to credit card expenses and was sent until October 19 for sentencing.
