Portadown man who stole items worth £14.10 from Spar store is given two-week prison sentence

Stefan Megraw, 37, whose address was given as Ballyoran Park, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court via videolink from Maghaberry Prison, where he is in custody in relation to another matter.

The court heard that on Thursday May 1, 2025 at 4.30pm, police attended the Spar on Bridge Street in Portadown following a report that the store supervisor had observed the defendant on CCTV enter the store, place items in a carrier bag and leave without attempting to pay.

It was stated that the items stolen amounted to £14.10.

The defendant was identified by the store’s CCTV footage and subsequently arrested by the police.

During police interview, the defendant made full admission, saying he took the food items as he had no money to pay for the goods.

A defence lawyer told the court the defendant was “going through a transient lifestyle and sofa surfing” at the time of the offence.

"He had taken the food stuffs simply because he didn’t have any money. He does apologise,” he added.

Noting that the defendant had 55 convictions, District Judge Michael Ranaghan commented: “It is his second theft in quite a lengthy record."

He warned the defendant: “You need to be very careful going forward if you want to have any chance of staying out of prison for any length of time.”

Mr Ranaghan imposed a prison sentence of two weeks. He also ordered the defendant to pay a £25 offender’s levy.