Homeless thief with a taste for pink gin locked up after theft from Sainsbury's

A homeless thief has been jailed for stealing pink gin from a Wearside supermarket while on a suspended prison sentence.
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Thomas Hudson, 35, swiped the £26 booze bottle from Sainsbury’s’ superstore at The Galleries at Washington on November 5 – then disappeared from sight, a court heard.

But Hudson, who has almost 150 offences on his record and who the court heard ‘never strays far from Washington’, was not spotted again until his arrest last week due to being of no fixed abode.

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His lack of permanent residence also meant he avoided starting a post-sentence supervision order imposed by a court and designed to monitor his behaviour.

Thomas Hudson.Thomas Hudson.
Thomas Hudson.

But he has now been put behind bars for 16 weeks, escaping a longer 21-week sentence due to the theft being six months ago and having a clean record since.

At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Sarah Griffiths told Hudson his history of flouting court orders meant she had no option but jail.

She said: “When I look at your record, it’s clear that you’re a person who simply doesn’t comply with orders.

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“You’ve immediately breached your post-sentence supervision order. It would have been 21 weeks if the offence was not so long ago.”

Prosecutor John Garside told the court: “The property was not recovered. He made full and frank admissions when interviewed.”

The court heard Hudson, who pleaded guilty to theft and breaching the requirements of the supervision order, had 52 previous convictions from 148 offences.

Paul McAlindon, defending, said: “This is a picture of someone who has been homeless for many years and living on the streets.

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“It’s to his credit that he hasn’t committed any more offences since November.

“He never strays far from Washington, his shop thefts are around Concord and Sulgrave.

“He is distinctive to look at, he has a tattoo and he’s missing an eye.”

Judge Griffiths jailed Hudson for six weeks for the theft and two weeks for the supervision order breach, to run consecutively.

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She also invoked a suspended eight-week prison sentence, which had been suspended for a year, for his original crime of fraud and theft.

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