24/11/2010 - Serial shoplifter banned from M&S
A judge has ordered a thief to find somewhere else to shop after he targeted Marks & Spencer stores across London in a six-month crime spree.
The Old Bailey heard Leonard O'Neill, 62, of Gresse Street, Marylebone, stole food and clothes from the retail giant's stores in Oxford Street, Fenchurch Street and Westminster. He told the court that he had developed a grudge against M&S following a dispute over refunds for shirts he had bought.
The court heard O'Neill stole food to the value of £197.60 from the Oxford Street branch in May. Then, despite being caught and bailed, he took five shirts and six ties worth £314.50 from the Fenchurch Street store six weeks later. Earlier this month, he took £388 of clothing from the Westminster branch and was remanded in custody.
Serial shoplifter O'Neill admitted the string of thefts. He also thanked Judge Timothy Pontius as he was given a 10-month jail sentence suspended for two years.
But a condition of the sentence that saw him spared jail involved a ban on him entering any branch of M&S for two years. Judge Pontius warned him: "Plainly, your shopping must be done elsewhere."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Related links
|
