A thief who stole thousands of pounds’ worth of tanning products was tracked down and arrested after his car was linked to one of his crimes.
Andrew Spencer, aged 60, came to police attention after a series of high-value thefts at Boots in Mansfield’s St Peter’s Retail Park.
CCTV footage showed him brazenly loading the items into the lining of his coat before casually strolling out of the store and driving away.
Three almost identical thefts were reported at the store in January, February and March 2021.
Officers were able to place him at the scene of the crimes by analysing data from multiple automatic numberplate recognition cameras.
During a subsequent search of his home in Leicester they found thousands of pounds’ worth of tanning products and other cosmetic items, many of which were later returned to their rightful owner.
Spencer, of St Leonards Road, Leicester, declined to answer police questions during his police interview but later pleaded guilty to three counts of theft.
Appearing at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (2 March) he was given a 12 week jail sentence suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
PC Kevin Marshall, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Spencer was deliberately targeting high-value cosmetic items that we believe he was selling on for profit elsewhere.
“When we finally caught up with him at the end of May his downstairs bathroom resembled a stock room, with thousands of pounds worth of stolen items on display.
“I am pleased he has now been brought to justice and hope he resolves never to commit similar offences in the future.”
Fellow Mansfield town centre patrol officer PC Louise Marshall added: “Shop thefts of this nature can have a really serious impact even on the biggest businesses and we are working hard every day to tackle them.
“Part of that work is focussed on tracking people like Spencer down and bringing them to justice; but of equal importance is the work we are doing with local businesses to improve their security arrangements and prevent these kinds of thefts from taking place in the first place.”
