Lisburn man pleads guilty to 16 charges of theft from local Spar
A Lisburn man has pleaded guilty to 16 charges of theft from a local shop after CCTV footage showed him failing to scan items at the self service till.
Jonathan Kirkwood, 42, whose address was given as Clogher Road, appeared before Lisburn Magistrates Court on Thursday, December 11, 2025.
The court heard that on March 28, 2025 police received a report from the Spar on the Hillsborough Road in Lisburn that a male had entered the shop regularly over a three-week period and taken a number of items without paying by skip scanning at the self service till.
The items were said to include drinks and window cleaner, with a total value of £87.85. The defendant was identified by the registration of his vehicle.
He was arrested and accepted that it was him in CCTV footage but he said that he thought he had scanned everything.
Defence told the court: “This is a man in his forties and he had no criminal record until this time.
"It appears to be a blip in his record over the space of three weeks, the background being a difficult break up. He has been in full time employment since he left school.
"It is completely out of character and he has made efforts not to use the self scanners and will never use them again since this experience. He wishes to apologise to the Spar and the court as well.”
District Judge Rosie Watters imposed a probation order for six months. She also ordered the defendant to pay restitution of £87.85.