South Shields thief nicked £550 worth of Co-op and Sainsbury's items including shopping baskets
A South Shields thief who stole almost £550 worth of goods from Co-op and Sainsbury’s including two shopping baskets was handed a suspended sentence.
A serial thief who plundered almost £550 of goods from two South Tyneside stores during a fortnight of offending has been handed a suspended jail term
Scott Wilson, 35, began his spree by swiping food from the Co-op in Mortimer Road, South Shields, after his benefits were stopped, a court heard.
During the theft at 7.45pm on Tuesday, July 21, Wilson, of Coston Drive, South Shields, even pinched two shopping baskets in a raid which totalled £116.
He then took a break between that offence and his next on Friday, July 31, borough magistrates heard.
On that day he committed his first of six thefts in five days from Sainsbury’s in Stanhope Road, also South Shields – a spree which netted him £421 of stock.
He entered just after noon and stole £100 of meat, prosecutor Syed Ali said, and returned at 10.24pm the next day, making off with chiller items and alcohol valued at £51,
Wilson then targeted the store twice on Sunday, August 2 – at 1pm and 7.30pm – taking pizzas, meat, bacon and burgers totalling £150 in value.
And at 8.10pm on Monday, August 3, he struck again in pinching pizza and alcohol to a value unknown.
Mr Ali said Wilson’s final offence was at 10.45pm on Tuesday, August 4, when he stole £120 of cleaning products and coffee, valued at £120.
He added: “At the Co-op, the defendant entered with another male and selected food items and took them and two baskets without making payment.
“There are then six thefts from Sainsbury’s. He has taken £421 of goods, and these were captured on CCTV footage.”
Wilson, who pleaded guilty to seven counts of shop theft, has a criminal record of 31 previous convictions from 73 offences, 40 of which are for theft.
David Forrester, defending, revealed Wilson was autistic, adding: “He’s committed a number of shop thefts as his money had been stopped and he was sofa surfing.”
Magistrates jailed Wilson for four weeks for the Co-op theft, with no separate penalty for the others, and suspended the sentence for 17 months.
They ordered him to pay full compensation. There were no court costs.