AFTER 14 adjournments in a case going back four years, magistrates at Rochdale decided to issue a warrant for the arrest of a Bolton man accused of burgling a charity shop in the town.
Craig Hamer-Pieper, aged 30, of Holland Street, Astley Bridge, Bolton, should have appeared in court for sentencing for stealing jewellery and cash worth £150 from the Rochdale Hospice Appeal Shop. Hamer-Pieper's link to the burglary in 1997 had been established by DNA evidence and the defendant who had had a drug problem said he could not refute the evidence although he could not recollect the offence. It had then been difficult to bring him to justice because of address changes.
The court heard that despite hospital treatment Hamer-Pieper had been deemed to be fit enough to attend court and a warrant for his arrest without bail was issued.
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