Stole to get train fair for job training course

Published on 3rd May 2007 in News

A Doncaster man was ordered to complete a 12-month community order this week following a series of shoplifting offences around Goole town centre.

Lee Myers (23), of Station Road, Arksey, Doncaster, appeared at Goole Magistrates' Court on Friday, April 27 and pleaded guilty to two charges of theft from Goole town centre in December last year.

Mrs Julie Laverack Glanville, for the Crown Prosecution Service, told the court that on December 19, Mr Myers went into the Peacocks store in Wesley Square and, after spending more than ten minutes standing over a dvd display stand, slipped two DVDs into his jacket, but was spotted doing so by an off-duty police officer.

Later, when being interviewed by police, Mr Myers was reported to have said that he had no money because his Giro had not been paid into his account and he intended to sell the dvds on so that he could catch a train to Hull, where he was expected to attend a fork-lift truck training course.

Mr Myers was on bail, under the condition that he did not enter any shops in Goole, other than Jackson's, when he was seen entering the Jack Fulton freezer shop in Mariner's Court on December 22.

Mrs Laverack Glanville said he stole a can of Coca Cola, a tub of ice cream and liquid food supplements but upon his arrest, Mr Myers denied stealing the products, claiming he had taken the ice cream from his girlfriend's house and that the can of Coca Cola was from an Indian takeaway. When investigating further, police found that Mr Myers had in fact taken the items from the Jack Fulton shop.

Defending, Mr Paul Harley said that in this case, the court was dealing with "two very minor shop thefts," and asked for consideration to be given to Mr Myers' early guilty plea.

He added that Mr Myers was a recovering heroin addict who had been clean for the last four months, and said his life had 'turned a corner' as he had managed to get himself a job as a fork-lift truck driver.

Second chance at life

Magistrates told Mr Myers that they recognised the effort he had made in turning his life around, as getting a job was 'no mean feat', but ordered that he complete a 12-month community order, which will include 50 hours unpaid work and a supervision requirement.

Mr Myers was also ordered to pay £150 in court costs.