Sunderland thief stole bike and security camera from Sunderland Civic Centre after 'going on bender' with booze and 'a couple of lines of sniff'

A thief has been jailed for pinching a £650 cycle from under its owner’s nose and a security camera from off-limits Sunderland Civic Centre.
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Kirk Scott, 40, of St Leonard Street, Hendon, is starting 10 weeks behind bars for crimes committed three months apart in the city.

He was seen jumping onto a customer’s electric bike by staff at J&S News in Suffolk Street, Hendon, on Friday, May 6 – and zooming into the sunset.

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The theft left the owner distraught and having to find alternative transport to work, South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard.

Sunderland Civic Centre, which is being demolished.Sunderland Civic Centre, which is being demolished.
Sunderland Civic Centre, which is being demolished.

And on Monday, August 1, he was arrested after being found with a bag containing a camera pinched from the civic centre.

Prosecutor Glenda Beck said Sunderland Council’s former headquarters is fenced off to the public while being demolished.

Of the bike theft, she said: “At 4.30pm, the owner went into a shop and left the cycle resting against a wall but kept the door open so it could be seen.

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“The shop owner told him that someone had just jumped on it and had ridden off.

“The incident was caught on CCTV and Mr Scott was identified from the footage.

“He was arrested and said that he couldn’t remember the incident and had been on a bender and had had alcohol and a couple of lines of sniff.”

Mrs Beck said Scott told police he did not know what had become of the bike.

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She said he was also caught with a bag containing a £200 security camera after night-time staff were alerted to a possible civic centre security breach.

Guards found Scott with the item after an electronic alert showed it and two other cameras had been interfered with.

Heather Bolton, defending, admitted Scott, who pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, had an “extensive” criminal record.

She urged District Judge Zoe Passfield not to jail him, saying he suffered from epilepsy as the result of an attack and had concerns for his health.

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Mrs Bolton said the bike theft had been “spur of the moment” and that Scott had found the bag containing the camera.

Judge Passfield jailed him for 10 weeks for each offence, to run concurrently, and he must pay £650 compensation to the bike’s owner.