Larne: jail sentence for man who stole coat from rail outside Wear It Out shop
A man with more than 50 previous convictions who stole a £20 coat from a rail outside a shop in Larne town centre and then ran off has been jailed for three months.
Karl Robert Thomas Greenwood (25), with an address listed as Rosetta Way in Belfast, admitted the theft from the Wear It Out shop in Larne’s Main Street on August 14 last year.
He was identified from CCTV footage, the court heard.
A prosecutor told Ballymena Magistrates’ Court that the defendant had "stolen a jacket from a railing outside the front of the store".
A defence solicitor told an earlier hearing of the court that the matter had been a "purely opportunistic" theft.
He said the defendant had substance abuse issues and had been in a "difficult place" at a time when his "life was unstructured".
On Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Thursday, February 27, the defendant was given a one-month prison term for the theft of the coat and a two months suspended sentence for theft was activated to make a three-month sentence.
The defendant is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a public place without lawful authority or a reasonable excuse - namely a hatchet - at Old Glenarm Road in Larne. The offence is alleged to have taken place on August 4 last year.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The case involving the offensive weapon charge was adjourned to Ballymena Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, March 13 for a date to be fixed for a contest. hearing.