A prolific shoplifter who walked into a store and filled a bag with packs of butter has been sentenced.
Lee Boylan was on a neighbourhood policing team’s target list of thieves to track down when he was caught.
The 46-year-old made straight for the refrigerators after walking into the Co-op, in Mansfield Road, Sherwood.
He then brazenly started to empty a tray full of butter packs into a bag on Monday (13 May) – as a store security guard watched him nearby.
Boylan was already well-known to shop staff and the Sherwood neighbourhood policing team, having already targeted the store three times in the weeks before.
These thefts happened on 16 April, 2 May, and 11 May, with Boylan this time helping himself to cheese, coffee, and chocolate from the shelves.
His final attempt to steal from the Co-op this week was unsuccessful though, as he was stopped by a security guard, who then called the police.
In the weeks before that, Boylan also stole items from the Sainsbury’s, in Mansfield Road, four times – on 5 May, 7 May, 11 May, and 12 May.
All of this resulted in him being added to the Sherwood neighbourhood team’s target list of offenders, with police warning local shops to keep an eye out for him.
Following his arrest, Boylan, appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (14 May), where he pleaded guilty to eight separate counts of theft.
He was subsequently handed a 12-week prison sentence and ordered to pay around £240 in charges and costs.
PC Aiden Cook, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Sherwood neighbourhood policing team, said:
“Boylan has been on our team’s radar for a few weeks now, after targeting the same two shops on the high street.
“While the items he has been stealing might not add up to huge amounts of money, the relentless nature of this type of offending can have big ramifications for stores and the local community.
“Nobody wants to see thieves operating in their area, while the actions of shoplifters can ultimately lead to residents having to foot the costs when stores hike prices on items.
“Stopping acquisitive crimes, like shoplifting, is a key policing priority for our force area, and we regularly work in partnership with stores to identify and stop the people behind these offences.
“This provided a good example of this, with staff members quickly alerting our officers so that we could arrest a known offender.
“Shoplifting is a serious crime, so we’re pleased to see Boylan has now been punished for consistently breaking the law in the form of an immediate custodial sentence.”
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