A drug addict stole 10 bottles of spirits from a Morrisons store in Scunthorpe and went back three days later to commit a similar theft, a court heard.
Homeless, Jamie Watkins, 30, admitted the two shop thefts at the Morrisons Lakeside retail park when he appeared at Grimsby Crown Court.
That put him in breach of a suspended sentence order from October last year when a 20-month sentence was imposed and suspended for two years.
Watkins also admitted being in breach of the order by not attending probation appointments in September and October this year.
Prosecuting, Maya Hanson said alarms at Morrisons sounded on July 2 when Watkins left the store by a fire exit carrying 10 bottles of spirits valued at £200. Store detectives studied CCTV footage and sent an image on Scunthorpe ShopWatch network. That positively identified Watkins. He returned to the store on July 5 and stole five bottles of whisky valued at £100.
The offences put him in breach of a suspended sentence from 2023 for assault causing actual bodily harm. When he was arrested, Watkins admitted he was responsible and said it was attributed to his poor mental health.
For Watkins, Craig Lowe said his client had fallen back into addiction to drugs after separation from his partner. He said his client had made progress while in custody and said he had “done the rattle” by detoxifying in prison.
Mr Lowe said he presented as “a completely different person” who described prison as “the most horrible place in the world.”
Judge Richard Woolfall said the offences were serious because they had been committed during a time when he was on a suspended sentence. He said shoplifting affects stores’ ability to operate in profit. He jailed Watkins for a total of 12 months.
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
