Thief from Peterborough is jailed after carrying out nine thefts from shops
A thief tried to escape with goods he had stolen from a shop in Peterborough by driving off in a car that he had stolen earlier.
But police say that Thomas Smiley (36) was caught on CCTV stealing from the shop and then making his get away in the vehicle.
A Cambridgeshire police spokesperson said: “Smiley was captured on CCTV entering the Co-op, in Eye Road, Eye, near Peterborough and stealing various items totalling £180 on April 30.
"He was then caught driving away from the shop in a black Land Rover that had been taken from outside a house in Wordsworth Close, Walton, five days before.”
Police say that at the time Smiley had been due to appear in court for two thefts from a shop, theft of a bank card and the theft of a red Toyota Yaris from a car park in Fletton Quays in January.
And police say that while he was arrested by the Spree offender team on May 27, it was not before he had committed a further six thefts from shops across the city, stealing up to £687 worth of items.
Smiley, of Lincoln Road, Walton, appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on June 5 where he was jailed for 20 weeks after admitting nine counts of theft from a shop, taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, driving without insurance, driving without a licence, theft of a motor vehicle and theft from a motor vehicle.
He was also handed a 14-month driving ban and ordered to pay £50 in compensation.
Afterwards, PC Jack Jenkins, from the northern spree offender team, said: “Smiley had a blatant disregard for the law as he continued to offend despite being subject to courts proceedings, and was even brazen enough to commit a theft while using a stolen car.”