South Tyneside man put behind bars after committing more than 30 thefts

Homeless Christopher Cameron, 42, kept his liberty when convicted of half of those crimes at a court hearing on Wednesday, March 5.

He was offered professional support to help him mend his ways but failed to engage and promptly returned to crime.

Between Wednesday, March 19, and Tuesday, June 3, he committed a further 16 thefts from six borough retailers and one in Newcastle.

At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to 16 thefts – and his defence solicitor conceded the only option was imprisonment.

District Judge Zoe Passfield complied and caged the offender for 26 concurrent weeks for each of his new crimes.

She revoked a community order, imposed for his first set of offences, and replaced it with sentences of 18 weeks jail for each of those 16 thefts.

They will run concurrently to each other but consecutively to the 26 weeks.

In Cameron’s first new offence, he pinched £31 of alcohol from Morrisons’ petrol station in Byker, Newcastle.

Nine days later, on Friday, March 28, he stole £6 of booze from a service station in Boldon Lane, South Shields.

He also returned there on Friday, May 30, to steal £33 of the same product.

On Tuesday, April 22, he pinched £20 of alcohol from the Co-op, in Mortimer Road, South Shields.

He went back to the same store twice the following day, taking alcohol totalling £35, and again three days later, swiping £8 of booze.

Cameron also stole three times from a Heron Foods branch in South Shields – twice on Thursday, April 24, and on Saturday, April 26.

In the first, he made off with £22 of butter, followed by £15 and £33 of meat.

On April 26, he carried out his first of three thefts from Morrisons Daily, in Dean Road, South Shields.

He stole £25 of alcohol - and returned two days later and on Wednesday, April 30, taking booze valued in total at £18.

And on Sunday, May 4, he stole £13.50 of crisps from Heron Foods’ branch in Boldon Colliery.

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The crook then turned his attention to New Look’s clothing store in Jarrow, from where he pinched £120 of goods on Wednesday, May 21.

On Tuesday, June 6, he finished his crime spree by returning to the same branch to take £75 of fashion goods.

Prosecutor Stephen Davies said: “All offences were captured on CCTV. Mr Cameron was identified and arrested.

“In interview, he made no comment to questions put to him.”

In a report, the Probation Service said Cameron had failed to engage with his community order and confirmed he had stated he would not quit alcohol or drugs.

David Forrester, defending, described Cameron as being “cuckooed” by criminals who forced him to offend in return for accommodation.

He told the judge: “You have no option than to impose a custodial sentence.”

Cameron must also pay a £154 victim surcharge.

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