Among the items stolen were meat packets, toilet rolls, bottles of vodka, razor blades, coffee, perfume, clothing and Lego sets
Belfast Crown Court(Image: Presseye Mail )
An East Belfast man branded a “prolific career shoplifter” was jailed today on Tuesday for 13-months for stealing almost £3,000 worth of items from local stores. Judge Mark Reel told Aaron Douglas he will spend a further 13 months on supervised licence on his release from prison. Douglas, 34, of Global Crescent, previously pleaded guilty at Belfast Crown Court to 14 counts of theft, one of attempted theft and possession of a quantity of cannabis.
The court heard Douglas has 100 previous convictions on his criminal record which included 92 for theft and two entries for burglary.
The first set of offences were committed on dates between May 25 and July 4 2023 with a total value of £785.67p.
He admitted stealing £255.75p worth of razor blades from Asda Dundonald, £409.92p worth of beauty products from TK Maxx in Bangor and two football tops valued at £120 from JD Sports.
The second bill of indictment related to 11 offences of theft and one of attempted theft on dates between August 30 and December 15, 2024 totalling £2,145.47p.
Among the items stolen were meat packets, toilet rolls, bottles of vodka, razor blades, coffee, perfume, clothing and Lego sets. The court heard the attempted theft was related to a bid to steal £293.93p worth of Lego from B&M Bargain stores.
It was the prosecution case that CCTV had captured the thefts and police identified the shoplifter as Aaron Douglas who was known to officers from previous incidents. When arrested, police conducted a search and found a small quantity of cannabis on his person.
The court was told Douglas was due to be released on Tuesday from custody after he was recalled to prison last year after his licence was revoked for committing further offences.
A pre-sentence report compiled by the Probation Board assessed Douglas as a high likelihood of reoffending but said he did not pose a danger to the public.
Douglas told the report’s author that he stole the goods to feed his drug habit and said at the time of his offending he was using “crack cocaine in large quantities”.
He described his childhood upbringing as “chaotic” after his parents separated. He said he left school with no qualifications and now struggles with literacy.
Passing sentence, Judge Reel said that among the aggravating factors were the defendant’s criminal record and he had committed “multiple offences which represented essentially a way of life and a campaign of offending”.
He told Douglas: “Your offending is so serious that neither a fine nor a community-based sentence could be justified and only immediate custody is appropriate. You are a prolific career shoplifter.”
Imposing the 26-month determinate custodial sentence, Judge Reel also ordered the destruction of the seized cannabis.
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