A shoplifter who committed many thefts has been jailed for three years.
Joe Edwards’ long list of thieving saw him steal stock from shops, an e-scooter from a customer and a charity box from a countertop.
The 20 separate offences he was charged with also included a break-in that saw Edwards smash a glass cabinet within a store in Nottingham city centre, and take more than £9,000 worth of smartphones.
That burglary on 23 July of this year proved to be the final theft in a crime series that saw the 38-year-old shoplift from different stores across Sherwood, Top Valley, Nottingham city centre, Wollaton and Mapperley.
Each of those thefts happened between this January and May, with sunglasses, alcohol, tobacco, chocolate Easter eggs and laundry products among the haul of items Edwards stole.
In the midst of that crime spree, the opportunistic also stole an e-scooter from the entrance of a shop in Bulwell after watching a customer ride up to the store and leave the scooter unattended.
Edwards then committed two further shop thefts in June and July, with one of these seeing him walk into a city centre shop and steal a charity box from the counter.
The offences would eventually catch up with him when he was spotted by police and arrested on 14 August, with a multitude of charges then following.
These included one burglary, 11 counts of shop theft, a further theft, multiple counts of drug possession, one count of handling stolen goods, a further count of fraud by false representation and a public order offence.
Having pleaded guilty to each offence, Edwards, of Tavistock Drive, Mapperley, attended Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday (1 October), where he was sentenced to three years behind bars.
He was also made the subject of a five-year criminal behaviour order (CBO) banning him from entering Nottingham city centre, as well as any Tesco, Co-op or Vision Express store in Nottinghamshire over that period.
Inspector Paul Ferguson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“Joe Edwards is a prolific thief who clearly has no respect for the law, so we were pleased to see him receive this sentence.
“His long list of offending included shop theft after shop theft, as well as a high-value business burglary and the further theft of an e-bike that really demonstrated his opportunistic criminal nature.
“This thieving spree was completely unacceptable, so as I say, it was good to see him receive – not just a lengthy custodial sentence – but an even longer CBO to help us put a stop to his behaviour when he gets out of prison.”
