Man with only 1p stole lager
A MAN who went "shopping" with only a penny in his pocket had been checked by supermarket security officers and found in possession of three cans of lager, a court was told.
Harrogate magistrates heard how jobless Graham Geoffrey Walker had been drinking heavily on October 23 when he ran out of both alcohol and cash.
So he walked into Asda, helped himself to three cans of lager valued at 5 and left the store.
But, said prosecutor Kathryn Reeve, another shopper had seen what had happened and alerted security staff who stopped 47-year-old Walker when he left the premises.
When Walker, of Woodfield Drive, Harrogate, pleaded guilty to theft his solicitor Geoffrey Rogers said the only matter on his record in the last three years was a failure to answer bail. Apart from that he had kept out of trouble and had quickly done the 40 hours of unpaid work which had been imposed for his bail offence in October.
'An issue with alcohol'
Mr Rogers said Walker had for a long time had an issue with alcohol. But for six months until his latest offence he had managed to avoid drinking completely.
Then, in his own words, he had fallen off the wagon for about two weeks and his theft offence had been committed in that time.
Mr Rogers said Walker had been drinking heavily before offending. The custody record from Harrogate police station suggested he had just 1p on him.
Walker, heavily affected by alcohol, decided he was going to carry on drinking and walked into Asda where he picked up lager and tried to walk out with it.
Walker was conditionally discharged for six months and told to pay 85 costs.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Harrogate
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
