Thief took laundry basket from a supermarket shelf and filled it with £1,400 worth of razors before kicking open fire escape door and making off
A man took a laundry basket from a supermarket shelf and filled it with £1,400 worth of razors before kicking open a fire escape door and making off in a waiting car.
Jonathan Sterling (39), of Bainesmore Drive in Belfast, struck at Tesco in Crumlin on October 15 last year.
At Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Thursday he pleaded guilty to theft. The defendant has 158 previous convictions.
The court heard he has "distinctive tattoos" and was identified on CCTV. A prosecutor said the defendant lifted a laundry basket in the store and filled it with razors. He then ran to a fire escape door which he kicked multiple times until it opened, before running to a waiting Fiat vehicle and fleeing.
The goods were not recovered. The prosecutor said the driver of the vehicle was "not located".
A defence barrister said the defendant is due to start a job with a Council and is "hopefully getting off the cycle of offending". District Judge Nigel Broderick said it had been an "audacious, pre-meditated, theft of goods to the value of £1,400".
He said there was every reason why the defendant should be jailed as he had an "absolutely atrocious" record. However he said he defendant recently received Probation at court for another matter.
For the razors theft, the judge deferred sentence until January next year and he told the defendant there should be no re-offending and he had to co-operate with Probation.