Sentencing Titus Taylor, a judge said she hoped the law would soon change so she would not have to deal with cases like his
18:42, 12 May 2026Updated 19:24, 12 May 2026
Titus Taylor, 52, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court(Image: Manchester Evening News)
A 52-year-old who pretended to tie his shoelaces before making off with £1,000 from a city centre casino has claimed he was ‘too embarrassed’ to admit his crime.
Titus Taylor was at Napoleon’s Casino on Portland Street, where he was sharing a table with Joel Collins on December 13, 2024. Today (May 11), a court was told how Mr Collins had previously transferred a friend £1,000 in exchange for the same sum in cash and began playing a game on the casino floor.
Mr Collins then took a break from his game and walked away, before being followed by Taylor, of Scowcroft Street in Bolton.
CCTV footage from the casino then shows the money, which was in a bag, falling from Mr Collins’ pocket – who didn’t realise what had happened until a short while later.
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After speaking with the management of the casino, the court heard the same footage showed Mr Taylor had followed the victim. He then could be seen to kneel down to tie his shoelaces and pick up the bag of money, prosecutor Patrick Williamson told the court.
Titus Taylor, 52, received twelve months conditional discharge, and was ordered to pay £450 (Image: Manchester Evening News)
The CCTV footage was seen by the casino while Mr Taylor was still in the building, however the business did not detain him at the time so he was able to leave.
Callum Stevens, mitigating, told the court how Mr Taylor has no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty to the theft in the pre-trial preparation hearing, and the reason that he did not admit to his crime earlier was ‘purely embarrassment that he did do wrong’.
Mr Stevens stressed the 52-year-old was extremely embarrassed by his crime, and completely accepted responsibility for his actions – explaining he had ‘experienced remorse to the highest degree.’
He told the court the offence was ‘relatively minor’ and not pre-planned or pre-meditated.
“It was of course a stupid decision,” he said, but highlighted that it was ‘opportunistic’ and “done on the spur of the moment.”
Mr Taylor, who works two jobs, “does not come from a background of criminality,” the mitigation added, claiming that the offence was “a silly mistake.”
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The offender said that “the court will never see me again for anything ever,” the mitigation added, claiming that he has a low risk of re-offending and harm.
Issuing her sentence, Judge Hilary Manley called the offence a ‘sneak theft’. She said: “It was very much out of character. You are a man now in his 50s and this was very much out of character. It was a foolish decision which I think you regret very much.”
Judge Manley took into account the remorse that Mr Taylor showed, as well as his age. She added that she is hopeful the law might change in the future so that the Crown Court does not have to spend time dealing with cases of ‘really petty theft’.
Mr Taylor was handed 12 months conditional discharge and was ordered to pay compensation of £450 – £200 to the victim and £250 as a contribution towards the costs of the prosecution.