A man being booked in at the police station was recognised by a passing officer as being involved in an offence he was investigating.
Blackburn Magistrates' Court heard David Yates was then arrested for the second matter and put before the court.
Yates, 39, of Stonyhurst Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to fraudulent use of a stolen bank card. He was ordered to pay £150 compensation.
Jonathan Taylor, mitigating, said his client had initially been arrested for recall on prison licence and had since been returned for 14 days.
“He was actually at the police station being booked in when an officer, passing purely by chance, saw him and recognised him from CCTV footage he had viewed of a cash withdrawal using a stolen card,” said Mr Taylor.
“The CCTV footage shows another man was involved. My client says that the other man told him if he helped him use the card there would be something in it for him.
“My client had no idea where the card had come from.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here