Jail for homeless man who tried to steal booze from Mansfield stores

A homeless man who tried to steal more then £300 of booze from stores in Mansfield and ignored efforts to help him has been jailed.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.Mansfield Magistrates Court.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.

Giedrius Kiselis stole £231 of alcohol from Tesco, on August 16, and £81, on November 12, but was detained by security staff on both occasions.

Prosecutor Donna Fawcett said the offences put him in breach of a conditional discharge, imposed on August 9.

Rebecca Williams, mitigating, said: “His issues began when he lost his employment a number of years ago and he’s since found himself homeless.”

Court latestCourt latest
Court latest

She said he had no form of income, but support from the probation service would help him find accommodation and work, which would end his offending.

Probation officer Greta Percival said “short terms of imprisonment don’t appear to be addressing his issues.”

Speaking via a Lithuanian interpreter, Kiselis said: “Everything was taken away from me.”

District judge Jonathan Taaffe said: “The only person who can turn this around is you.

“The authorities have bent over backwards to help you and you repeatedly breach court orders.”

He jailed Kiselis for 14 weeks. No costs were awarded, but he must pay a £115 governments surcharge on his release.