A 22-year-old’s two inept shoplifting episodes have sent him on the road to rehabilitation to sort out his drug and alcohol issues.
Jackson Strathdee-Goomes, of Somerfield, admitted four trespass and theft charges before Judge John Strettell at the Christchurch District Court today.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Paul Scott said Strathdee-Goomes had been trespassed in April and July from The Warehouse and from Barrington Mall.
On August 12, he went to The Warehouse at Barrington, stole several pairs of socks worth $40 and did get out of the store.
His mistake was then going to a shop in the mall and asking for a bag to put the socks in.
Mall security was called and he was arrested.
He was released by the police at 3pm, with a bail condition that he not go to the mall.
He was back there at 7.17pm and this time his tactic was to grab three pairs of socks worth $30 from The Warehouse and run out the main door.
A customer tried to restrain him but he broke free and ran off. The socks were recovered.
Defence counsel Allister Davis asked for the case to be dealt with straight away because Strathdee-Goomes was under a sentence of intensive supervision and was booked in for detox as part of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme at the end of this month.
Judge Strettell noted that Strathdee-Goomes had now got into a pattern of behaviour, and had been sentenced to intensive supervision for thefts in July. A programme was now in place to treat his alcohol and drug dependency.
He ordered Strathdee-Goomes to come up for sentence within nine months if called upon. It meant there would be no penalty, but if he offended again he would be brought back to court and sentenced on these charges as well.
Mr Davis told the court: “If he trips up, I have told him in no uncertain terms what will happen.”
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