Worksop thief was "off his head on drugs"

A Worksop man was "off his head on drugs" and couldn't remember stealing meat, art sets, and a bicycle in the same week, a court heard.
The Co-op on Plantation Hill, WorksopThe Co-op on Plantation Hill, Worksop
The Co-op on Plantation Hill, Worksop

Samuel Williams filled a basket with £71 of meat and left the Co-op, on Plantation Hill, without paying, on February 9.

He and another man stole two art sets, worth £100, from the Gallery Art Shop, on Carlton Road, on February 13.

Two days later he stole a £300 bicycle, from outside the Queen's Building, on February 15, said prosecutor Sarah Sanderson.

"He was identified on CCTV and told police he couldn't remember anything about the thefts because he was off his head on drugs and said he intended to buy drugs," she said.

She said he had 20 convictions for 41 offences, 12 of which are for theft, and he was last in court in 2017, when he received a suspended prison sentence.

Simon King, mitigating, said Williams was "in a very difficult place," as he was homeless at the time, and addicted to Class drugs, including heroin.

He is now on a methadone programme and had enrolled on a drug programme, he added.

He said that the "only fly in the ointment" was that Williams is due to face a burglary charge on Monday.

Williams, 40, of Tennyson Drive, admitted the thefts when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Thursday.

He was given a 12 week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

He was ordered to pay £400 in compensation, but no court costs were awarded.

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