Homeless man jailed for violent attack on shopkeeper
Shaun Patrick Tracey was also fined £400 for taking four cans valued at £11.96 from the store in north Belfast on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to common assault and theft.
But a judge said he should have been charged with robbery.
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Hide AdBelfast Magistrates’ Court heard he went into a Spar on the Antrim Road, took the tins and tried to leave without paying.
He was confronted and then began swinging.
A prosecution lawyer said: “The defendant threw a number of hard punches at a staff member standing in the doorway.”
He was arrested after a police patrol went to the scene.
Tracey committed the latest offences within two weeks of receiving a suspended sentence for interfering with vehicles.
On that occasion he had been attempting to get into a car to sleep for the night, the court heard.
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Hide AdDefence solicitor Una Conway described Tracey as a long-term homeless man with a “tragic” background.
She said he was raised within the care system in London, but came to Northern Ireland due to family connections.
Since then, however, Tracey has developed a chronic dependency on drink.
“He was back on the streets, he stole alcohol to fuel his addiction and then got into an argument with the shopkeeper,” Ms Conway submitted.
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Hide AdImposing five months custody, District Judge Mark Hamill said: “Placing hands on the member of staff should be a charge of robbery.
“That’s the reality if you engage in violence in the course of a theft.”