[A] Carlisle man with 112 previous criminal convictions has appeared at North and West Cumbria Magistrates Court in Carlisle and pleaded guilty to a further two-offences.
Ian Mark Telfer, 45, gave his address as Newtown Road, the court heard how Telfer was placed on an anti-social-behaviour order in March after a number of previous thefts, the ASBO banned him from entering certain premises in the city, including B & M bargains.
On Sunday July 16, he entered the store in the city centre and went to the meat section where he took three gammon pieces costing £30, the stores CCTV recorded this, moments after leaving without paying a shop assistant noticed he had fallen outside the store and she went to help him, as he got to his feet the pieces of meat fell onto the ground.
Telfer pleaded guilty to the shop theft and to breaching his criminal behaviour order [ASBO] the defendant was given the order just over two-months ago, this is his second breach
Anthony Wilson in mitigation said, Telfer stole the meat to clear a previous old drug debt, he had been threatened by another person and had to steal the meat to “wipe out the debt”.
The judge was told Telfer was frightened for his own personal safety and that of his girlfriend who is pregnant said the lawyer.
District Judge Gerald Chalk sentenced Telfer in total to 90-days in prison, which includes 20-days for unpaid fines, saying half of the sentence would be in prison the other half in the community, on his release he has to pay a victims surcharge of £115.
