Removal man stole $32,000 jewellery from house

A Rotorua moving company worker has admitted stealing $32,000 worth of jewellery from a client's bedroom.

Ross Junior Hudson, 42, pleaded guilty in the Rotorua District Court yesterday to the theft of two rings, a gold bracelet and a small silver cherub charm on June 18.

According to the police summary of facts, Hudson was an employee of a moving company engaged to move the victim's property from her Tikitere home to her new address.

Nothing was to be moved from the master bedroom on the first day. However, workers were to take a quick look at the room to check what large items would need to be moved the next day.

Hudson went into the bedroom's walk-in wardrobe and grabbed a gold bracelet and the charm from a jewellery box. On his way out, he took two rings from the vanity in the en suite bathroom.

He later sold the jewellery, valued at an estimated $32,000, to a second-hand dealer for $500.60.

Hudson was convicted and remanded on bail for sentencing on September 2.