Co Antrim man who stole doorstep parcel containing £110 pair of Nike trainers is sentenced
A 34-year-old man stole a parcel containing a £110 pair of Nike trainers from the "front porch" of a property at Belfast Road in Antrim town and then fled by bicycle.
However, a person observed it "remotely on his home CCTV" and spotted the thief on the bicycle. When the defendant was challenged, the parcel was retrieved.
The person flagged down a police patrol and the defendant fled into the area of Nursery Park, abandoning a rucksack, and was found hiding in a hedge.
The bag contained 38 grammes of cannabis. 52 grammes of amphetamine were also found. The defendant also had an "immigration tag", according to a prosecutor.
Jakab Szabolcs, with an address listed as Mull Road in Antrim, admitted theft and possessing cannabis and amphetamines on March 26 last year.
The defendant had the assistance of a Slovak language interpreter at Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena on Tuesday. The defendant had 50 previous convictions.
District Judge Nigel Broderick told the defendant the "only thing saving" him from jail was that the trainers were recovered.
He said the defendant had 50 previous convictions which was a "matter of concern" but he was taking into account that Szabolcs had successfully completed Probation from an earlier case and that he had a number of health difficulties.
The defendant was given a six months prison term, suspended for a year.