Thief given second chance is jailed after South Tyneside meat theft spree

A former squaddie who put South Tyneside retailers in his sights by committing three thefts against them has been jailed.

Dillon Lawson, 28, of Belle Vue Crescent, Tyne Dock, is starting 12 weeks behind bars for his latest crimes and others carried out last year.

Lawson pinched a total of £263 of goods from two Tesco stores and a Sainsbury outlet during a crime spree in March and April.

But he was subject to a suspended prison sentence, imposed in December for several other same offences committed in October and November.

At the time, borough magistrates spared him prison after being told there was hope he could beat a drugs' problem.

However, they denied him a second chance when he returned to the same court to plead guilty to three new offences of theft from shops.

They activated the full 12-week suspended prison term and imposed two four-week concurrent sentences on top.

Prosecutor Sarah Malkinson said Lawson stole bottles of Prosecco to the value of £144 from a Tesco store on Wednesday, March 13.

He also pinched £56 of meat from Sainsbury on Sunday, March 31, and £63 of meat and confectionery from a second Tesco outlet on Thursday, April 4.

Ms Malkinson added: “He has 11 previous convictions from 37 offences, of which 31 are theft offences. He is subject to a 12-week sentence, suspended for 12 months.

“There was some planning involved in these offences and there are multiple thefts, which are aggravated by his previous offences.”

David Forrester, defending, told magistrates they could hold back from activating the suspended sentence if they felt it was unjust to jail Lawson.

But he conceded they had little room for manoeuvre and that the Probation Service could offer no community-based punishment alternative.

Mr Forrester said: “He was in the Army for four-and-a-bit years. His record starts about 18 months ago when he came out and had difficulties after that.

“He started using drugs, including crack cocaine. We’ve been through the gamut of options. There’s been a slight drop in frequency of his offending.”

Magistrates also ordered Lawson to pay full compensation and £85 court costs.