Mansfield man walked out of Tesco without paying for £200 of groceries

A Mansfield man who loaded a supermarket trolley with nearly £200 of groceries and walked off without paying only had £3 on him, a court heard.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.Mansfield Magistrates Court.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.

James Lee was detained outside Tesco, on Chesterfield Road South, at 12.30pm, on June 13, with a trolley containing £195 of shopping.

In police interview he said he only had £3 on him, and had gone into the store to change some coins.

The court heard he was on a community order at the time, which had since been revoked, and was now on a prison sentence of four weeks, suspended for a year.

Morgan Hogarth, mitigating, said Lee handed himself into police a few days later for other matters.

He said that Lee had been making good progress with the probation service.

Lee, 49, of Dunsil Road, Mansfield Woodhouse, admitted theft when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Wednesday.

Magistrates sentenced him to 14 days in prison, suspended for 12 months.

He was told that if he offended again the two suspended sentences were likely to be activated.

Lee was ordered to pay a £115 government surcharge, which will be added to the £700 debt he owes to the court.