South Shields man with ‘horrendous record for theft’ caught stealing coats from Next
A South Tyneside man with an “horrendous record for theft” has been spared jail after pinching goods to sell to buy booze.
Thomas Brown, 35, of Ocean Road, South Shields, was handed a four-week suspended prison term after confessing to two new shoplifting charges.
He pinched a proven £246 of coats from retailer Next’s store in Waterloo Place, South Shields, on Friday, November 18, borough magistrates heard.
Staff believe his theft may have totalled £328 in value but could not definitively say – and no items were recovered.
A day later, Brown stole an unknown value of household goods from OneBeyond, a stone’s throw away in King Street.
Prosecutor Glenda Beck said he was traced minutes later by CCTV and arrested with the goods.
He committed the offences while subject to an 18-month community order, imposed in October for assaulting an emergency worker and shop theft.
Mrs Beck added: “A witness was working at Next when a male in dark clothing, with his hood up, was seen to leave the store while holding three or four coats.
“He has made no attempt to pay. The coats were valued at between £246 and £328.
“On Saturday, police in Ocean Road conducted an area search for a male who civic cameras had seen take a number of items from OneBeyond.
“Officers identified the defendant, and he had a bag of products. He was arrested and the goods recovered.
“He was transferred to custody and interviewed, and he fully admitted both offences.
“The items from Next were not recovered. They didn’t know exactly how many coats had been taken.
“The offences are aggravated by him being subject to that community order at the time and the number of similar previous convictions.”
Brown, who has 61 previous offences of theft or kindred and has committed 63 offences while on bail, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft from a shop.
The court heard his community order carries a requirement he undergoes drug rehabilitation.
Ian Cassidy, defending, said: “What I’m told by Mr Brown is that alcohol is now the issue. A drug requirement was imposed on the order.
“He says that now it’s not the drugs, he’s got that under control, but he is alcohol dependent.
“It’s easier to steal other items, alcohol is too closely watched. He sells them on for money and that money was used for alcohol.
“The offences are clearly aggravated by his record and the fact that he is on an order already.
“Mr Brown’s assessment of the order is that it’s going quite well.”
The Probation Service disagreed, telling the hearing Brown’s community order had started badly, and he was at risk of being breached for non-compliance.
Magistrates jailed him for four weeks for each offence, to run concurrently, and suspended to 12 months.
John Lee, chair of the bench, told him: “You’ve an horrendous record for theft and have been in and out of prison.”