'Appalling' thief stole flowers from Glade of Light arena attack memorial TWICE in a week
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA south Manchester man stole flowers from the Glade of Light Manchester Arena memorial TWICE in the space of a week. Pavel Smejkal, of Fernleaf Street, Moss Side, admitted two charges of theft by finding at Manchester Magistrates’ Court.
He was sentenced by the bench today (May 26). Smejkal, 63, stole the flowers on January 18 and January 20 of last year. In court, he claimed he did not know the Glade of Light was a memorial. READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community Smejkal was spotted on CCTV approaching the memorial around 3.30am on January 20, and took some flowers from the site.
The police were then contacted by the council, and apprehended Smejkal later that morning. During his interview, he claimed not to have known that it was a memorial.
He also admitted taking flowers previously on January 18. He admitted his guilt at court but persisted with his claims not to know that it was a memorial.
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