‘Prolific’ Worksop shoplifter who threatened to stab female Co-Op worker locked up

Jordan Shaw stole coffee, a loaf of bread and detergent when he launched the attack at a Co-Op, on April 11, said prosecutor Lucky Thandi.

He also helped himself to two £24 joints of meat from Sainsbury's, on April 4 and 14, and took £95 of underwear from Sports Direct, on April 10.

The offences put him in breach of a suspended sentence imposed by Nottingham magistrates in March, for two counts of shoplifting.

Caroline Sellars, mitigating, said Shaw, aged 25, was ‘embarrassed for assaulting a woman’ and 'feels very sorry.'

She said he began using mamba and crack cocaine when he was 18 and 'matters reached a head,' last autumn, when he was admitted to hospital and sectioned for drug-induced psychosis.

He already has mental health problems, she said, and he has been diagnosed with attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder.

“The admission to hospital was a wake-up call,” Ms Sellars said. “Since October he has been completely free from drugs.

“He has prolifically stolen from shops from an early age and doesn't know how to change that habit. In December he and his partner secured a council flat when things began to take a better turn.

“He stole so he could raise funds, or keep goods, for himself and his partner. He knows that’s a cycle he has to break.

“He has used the last four weeks in custody to reflect and says his partner won’t tolerate much more from him. That’s an incentive to stay away from offending in future.”

Shaw, of Sandhill Street, Worksop, admitted three counts of theft and a common assault, when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court, on Thursday.

Judge Mark Watson told him: “You're still young but you have amassed 40 convictions for 108 offences, including 48 matters of shoplifting.

“You’re a regular and persistent shoplifter. You treated shops like your own store cupboard. Anyone who challenged you would be challenged by you. You would remonstrate with them and become angry.”

He sentenced Shaw to six months for the April offences, and activated the 20 week suspended sentence.