A shoplifter snatched high-value items from a Carlisle supermarket — and when a store alarm sounded he tried to shift the blame onto a pensioner.
Homeless Nicky Maxwell, 32, targeted Morrisons on Kingstown Road twice in five days earlier this year.
On 19th February, a security guard saw Maxwell in the store and, knowing he had stolen from there before, kept an eye on him. He watched Maxwell load items including razors, blades and clothing — valued at £729 — into a basket which he dumped as he headed for the door without paying.
An alarm sounded and, prosecutor Peter Bardsley told city magistrates today: “He tried to blame it on an elderly lady and said he hadn’t got anything on him.”
But when loot fell from Maxwell’s jacket as the guard took hold of him, he ran off.
Maxwell was then seen on CCTV back inside the store on February 24. He filled a trolley with goods worth £1,439 and left without paying. He was charged and told to attend court earlier this week but, when he failed to do so, a warrant was issued.
He did attend court today and admitted two theft charges. When earlier interviewed by police, he spoke of heading to Morrisons on both occasions intending to steal items which he then planned to sell in order to buy food. He had been in a “bad place” at that time.
Steven Marsh, defending, said Maxwell, now of Burtholme Avenue, Carlisle, was homeless at the time, sleeping on the streets.
He had been released from prison in June 2020, after being jailed by a Carlisle Crown Court judge for 42 months. This was for a single punch attack that left a pal with a devastating brain injury.
For the two shoplifting crimes, magistrates imposed a 12-month community order. Maxwell must complete rehabilitation with the probation service and a 60-day alcohol abstinence order, and pay £1,439 compensation.
*Magistrates opted not to grant an application for a criminal behaviour order which would have seen Maxwell banned from a host of city shops.
