A teenage student who left a backpack on a bench with a laptop inside had it stolen by a careless thief who mistook it “for his meds”. Brendan O’Brien told a court he thought the bag contained medication left by a friend after he swiped the bag and its contents at the Thamesgate Shopping Centre in Gravesend in April. Magistrates heard the laptop theft had a huge impact on the student who had been studying for their A-levels at the time. The 24-year-old was later charged with theft but then failed to show up for his court appearance because he had no money to get to the hearing. O’Brien, of Wro…
