An opportunistic thief nabbed an Amazon delivery driver’s van after he found the keys in the ignition.

John Joyce, 24, had been accused by prosecutors of stealing the Ford Transit van at knifepoint in Lake Street, off Abingdon Road, last May.

But jurors at Oxford Crown Court cleared him of charges of robbery and possession of a blade, taking less than an hour to reach their unanimous not guilty verdicts.

Having previously pleaded guilty to theft of the vehicle, Joyce was jailed for eight months by Judge Maria Lamb.

Sending him down on Friday, the judge said: “You, in my view, certainly to date have been a habitual thief.

“You take what you want, when you want, without the slightest regard for the consequences to others and the misery that may [cause].”

During the trial, Joyce claimed he’d been out for a bike ride last May when he happened across the idling Transit on Lake Street.

CCTV showed him pedalling down the cul-de-sac, pull onto the pavement then look back towards the van.

The driver, who had already made around 100 deliveries that day and had another 30 left to do, claimed Joyce had said words to the effect of ‘you looking for 40B? It’s over there’. He was accused of producing a knife and threatening the driver, who grabbed at the handle of his van as it was driven away.

Put in the witness box, the defendant denied producing the knife or speaking to the delivery driver. “You were quite prepared to rob him of the van,” he was asked by prosecutor Jollyon Robertson. Joyce replied: “I didn’t rob him.”

In answer to questions from defence barrister John Simmons, the defendant said he’d driven the van to Sainsbury’s, where he’d been met by an associate and dumped the van. Around £1,700-worth of Amazon parcels from the back of the van were recovered by the police. The delivery driver was unable to work for a fortnight, as police kept the vehicle for forensic tests.

Joyce, of Red Bridge Hollow, Oxford, pleaded guilty to simple theft of the vehicle.

Mitigating, Mr Simmons acknowledged his client’s poor record for offences of dishonesty and accepted an immediate prison sentence was likely.

The young man was engaged to be married in May 2022. A letter from his fiancée spoke of the change that she’d seen in her betrothed. It was hoped he’d be able to put his past behind him.

Joyce apologised during the trial for taking the van.

Judge Lamb told the defendant during her sentencing remarks: “I regard the expression of remorse you delivered as completely lacking in sincerity.”

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