Man with 354 convictions gets one month jail sentence for walking out of Lidl with a full trolley
A Larne man with 354 previous convictions has been jailed for one month for filling a trolley and exiting the entrance door at a Lidl store in the town.
Noel Campbell (66), of Circular Road, also had a six month suspended sentence activated, taking the total he must now serve to seven months.
He took items of unknown value but estimated to be over £300, including an air fryer, on July 24 this year.
He claimed he took the air fryer because his cooker was broken.
The defendant was in the dock at Ballymena Magistrates' Court today.
In June this year he had been given a suspended jail sentence at the same court for shoplifting.
A defence barrister said the defendant was a drug user but his usage had eased and one of the reasons was the death of his son who had "overdosed".
The defendant had used drugs like heroin and crack cocaine over the years and Campbell had been in and out of custody for most of his adult life.
District Judge Natasha Fitzsimons said the court had given the defendant a suspended sentence in June and around a month later he had committed another theft.
"You definitely get the award today for the most lengthy record - 354 previous convictions and of that 42 are theft," she added.
She activated the suspended sentence of six months and added a month for the new offence.
The defendant had bail fixed for appeal but the judge said he must remain behind bars until the appeal is heard.