A man that received praise for supposedly helping victims of the Islamic terrorist attack that killed 22 people in Manchester last May, admitted to stealing from victims.
Surveillance video played in court showed 33-year-old Chris Parker, a homeless man, stealing a purse and cell phone from two different victims, CBS News reports. Parker went on to use a credit bank card he found in the purse.
Judge David Hernandez ordered Parker, who pled guilty on Wednesday in a Manchester courtroom to theft and fraud, to be held in custody till the end of the month when he will be sentenced — saying that he is “most likely” going to prison. CBS News added:
In an interview with the Press Association on the day after the bombing, Parker said the blast “knocked me to the floor and then I got up and instead of running away, my gut instinct was to run back and try and help.” He was widely hailed as a hero in the media and more than 50,000 GBP was raised for him on a crowdfunding platform, the Guardian newspaper reported.
Prosecutors say Parker, who only provided “limited assistance,” stole a purse that belonged to a victim who was seriously injured in the attack and used her credit bank card in the days following the attack. The victim’s 14-year-old granddaughter was killed in the attack. Parker also stole a phone from a teenage girl who was “caught up in the attack,” The Guardian noted.