Homeless thief jailed for stealing £37 of beer from Sainsbury's in South Tyneside.
Offender was given a two-day jail sentence for stealing from Sainsbury's in East Boldon and failing to attend his court appearance.
A thief who pinched booze from a South Tyneside store then failed to attend his court appearance has served two days in jail as punishment.
Gary Ward, 38, was kept in cells for 48 hours after his arrest and before he could be brought before a court to face justice.
After pleading guilty to two offences, the homeless offender was immediately released by District Judge Zoe Passfield from the dock of South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.
She told him his weekend behind bars was sufficient for stealing three crates of beer from Sainsbury’s in Station Approach, East Boldon, on Tuesday, September 4.
And she confirmed it covered the charge of failing to surrender to the custody of the court on Wednesday, September 16.
Prosecutor Glenda Beck said: “There is the theft of £37 of beer from Sainsbury’s. The beer was recovered and there is no issue regarding compensation.
“The crown would apply for £85 court costs. He has previous convictions but the last was in March last year.”
Ward pleaded guilty to one count each of theft from a shop and failing to surrender to custody.
Tom Morgan, defending, said: “Mr Ward’s reason for missing court was simply that he mixed his days up. He is currently homeless.
“He was due to have a viewing of an HMO today. He believes he may be able to rearrange that.
“There is some evidence that despite his challenging circumstances he is trying to sort things out.
“He’s been homeless for about three months. The viewing that he had arranged today was organised by Wear Recovery.
“He is cutting down on the things that have caused him issues. He admits the theft and to being intoxicated at the time.
“He has been in police custody since Saturday. He does have an offending record. His offences seem to be reducing somewhat.
“This was quite a bit less serious than some of the previous offences he has committed.”
Judge Passfield told Ward she would give him full credit for his guilty pleas.
She jailed him for one day for each offence. There were no court costs or victim surcharge.