Brazen Sunderland supermarket thief jailed
A brazen thief who continued to fill his carrier bag with stock after being confronted by Sunderland shop staff and told enough was enough, has been jailed.
Mark Valentine, 38, refused to stop his blatant stealing while committing his third raid at Morrison’s Daily in Ethel Terrace, Castletown, in three days.
Valentine then left the store on Saturday, August 30 – having carried out copycat shoplifts on each of the previous two days, a court heard.
Valentine struck each time with friend and crack cocaine addict Lee Costella, 42, of Carley Road, Southwick.
But he also pinched £100 of stock from the same outlet by himself on Saturday, August 16.
In their joint thefts, they pinched almost £600 of goods, enough for shop managers to consider installing extra security and making them fear for the safety of staff.
When arrested in the city’s Hylton Castle Park on August 30, Costella was also found in possession of a bottle of illegal corrosive substance ammonia.
At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, Valentine pleaded guilty to four counts of theft from a shop.
District Judge Zoe Passfield jailed him for 24 weeks for each offence, to run concurrently.
Costella pleaded guilty to three counts of theft from a shop and one of possession of a corrosive substance in a public place.
The judge adjourned his case for an all-options report and for an assessment around a possible drug rehabilitation programme.
He will be sentenced at the same court on Tuesday, October 21, and was granted bail on condition he does not enter the same Morrisons store.
Of Valentine, prosecutor Lauren Fisher said: “Three thefts are joint offences. He has entered the shop at 9.15pm on August 28 and filled a carrier bag with sweets and chocolate.
“On August 29, it was meat, chocolate and cheese. At 7.20pm on August 30, he has again entered the shop with a carrier bag.
“He has filled it with sweets, chocolate and coffee. A staff member has approached and said, ‘Mark, you’ve taken enough, get out now’, but he continued to fill the bag.’
Of Costella, Ms Fisher: “This is the co-defendant. When he was arrested for the August 30 theft, he had in his possession a small bottle that officers found to be ammonia.
“He told officers, ‘That’s not mine, I was given it’. He has 17 thefts on his record and in July, he was given a conditional discharge.”
In a business impact statement, Morrisons said Valentine and Costella’s thefts had led them to consider extra security.
Robin Ford, defending Valentine, who has committed 56 theft offences, said: “These were early guilty pleas and that’s about as good as it gets.
“He is stealing to live, he’s not changed his ways. Drugs are the issue.”
David Forrester, defending Costella, said: “He tells me that crack cocaine is his issue.
“Looking at his record, he’s not had drug rehabilitation for 10 years. He tells me he would welcome that.”