Cambridgeshire thief who told police ‘you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man’ jailed after being caught

Guiseppe Depaulo first came to the attention of officers on 9 March when he was caught on CCTV stealing front and rear number plates from a car.

Later that same month the 34-year-old was spotted removing number plates from another car before using them on his own vehicle to fill up with £120 of petrol at Tesco, in Wisbech, and leaving without paying.

That same day the stolen number plates were used again when Depaulo filled up a different car with £125 of petrol.

Two days later, at Tesco in Wisbech, Depaulo drove his partner’s car while disqualified. He was captured on CCTV brazenly walking out on three separate occasions without paying for goods worth £800, including a 40-inch TV, sound system and two hoovers.

Depaulo stole a further set of car number plates from an Audi A3 parked at Tesco on 3 April, which were later used for numerous making off without payment incidents before being found in a hire car.

Depaulo was confronted by the manager of Tesco on 14 April who spotted his car in the car park and called police. The manager saw him trying to leave but Depaulo immediately became abusive and drove away.

A trolley was found dumped nearby and CCTV revealed Depaulo had ripped the security devices from two bottles of vodka before placing them in his trolley and leaving.

Five days later Depaulo spat at a driver in a road rage incident, and then three days after this he was arrested for drink driving following a collision in Oxney Road, Peterborough. He had also kicked a car that had stopped nearby.

Depaulo was taken to Thorpe Wood Police Station but was verbally abusive, refused to cooperate and declined to give a specimen of breath for analysis.

Following his release from custody he called police and told them: “You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man”.

On 26 April Depaulo drove his girlfriend’s car and damaged it, and a month later damaged the rear-view mirror, sun visor and front windscreen of a different car when she had travelled to pick him up.

The following day Depaulo argued with a taxi driver about the fare before kicking the vehicle’s rear wing mirror and damaging it.

The taxi driver called police and showed officers to Depaulo’s house, where he was arrested. He was searched and found to have a small bag of cocaine.

Depaulo, of Fundrey Road, Wisbech, was charged with 14 offences including failing to provide a specimen for analysis, three counts of theft from a motor vehicle, four counts of making off without payment, theft, attempted theft, two counts of criminal damage, common assault and possession of class A drugs.

He admitted the offences at a previous hearing and was jailed for two years at Cambridge Crown Court yesterday (17 August). Depaulo was also disqualified from driving for three years.

PC David Lovitt, who investigated, said: “This was a shocking set of offences by Depaulo who thought he could escape justice for what he had done. He was wrong.

“His actions were nothing short of brazen and horrible, and I hope the jail term gives him time to reflect on his behaviour.”