Paul Greaves claimed his cash windfall was down to "good luck on the horses"
A jury has been discharged after failing to reach a verdict over an ex-detective accused of stealing £113,000 from a former police headquarters.
Paul Greaves, 56, of Carlton, Nottingham, denies stealing the cash from Warwickshire Police.
The money was discovered missing in 2011 after he put cash in a lock-box and placed it in a secure store at the force's old base at Leek Wootton.
The jury of six men and six women was unable to come to a decision.
The trial was heading in to its sixth week, after jurors were first sent out to deliberate a verdict on Friday.
They were given a majority direction by Judge Mark Wall QC on Tuesday afternoon at Birmingham Crown Court.
Drugs raid
Prosecutors said the detective's bank accounts showed he had paid off loans and credit cards in the weeks after the money went missing.
The cash was originally seized in a drugs and firearms raid on a farm in Leicestershire in June 2009.
But the banknotes disappeared after Mr Greaves put the money in the lock-box and placed it in the secure exhibit store.
Prosecutor Simon Davis said it was the Crown's contention that shortly thereafter Mr Greaves, who previously had debts of up to £52,000, suddenly had "loads of cash slopping about".
The loss of the money was only then discovered nine months after the specialist financial investigator had retired from the force, when it was due to be returned to its owners.
Mr Greaves claimed his cash windfall was down to "good luck on the horses", with betting slips appearing to show in one case a 34-run winning streak.
The Crown Prosecution Service intends to seek a retrial.
Mr Greaves was conditionally bailed to return to the court for a pre-trial hearing set to take place on 9 July.
- Published14 May 2015
- Published5 May 2015
