Man (39) who stole vodka from Lidl in Portadown had 'fallen in' with like-minded people with immigration issues, no benefits and alcohol problems, court told
A man (39), who stole vodka from Lidl, had “fallen in” with “like-minded associates” who had immigration issues, no benefits and alcohol problems, a court hears.
Jevgenijs Stepanovs, aged 39, of Dingwell Park, Lurgan, pleaded guilty to theft at Craigavon Magistrates Court.
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Police received a report on February 8 this year from Lidl in High Street Mall, Portadown, that a man came into the shop and “headed straight for the off licence”. He took two bottles of vodka worth £33.98 and put them in his satchel leaving the store without attempting to pay.
The defendant was identified via Lidl’s CCTV footage. During police interview he made "partial” admissions to the theft.
His barrister, Mr David McKeown, said his client had "fallen into” an association with “like-minded individuals” who have also been before the court.
"They all suffer from the same issue. They were all unemployed, had immigration issues, couldn’t obtain benefits, had no money and had problems with alcohol,” said Mr McKeown.
"As a result they very foolishly took to stealing alcohol to feed that addiction issue,” he added.
The barrister said a PSNI officer was “dealing with most of them” and has “noticed a significant drop off in recent months” as they all have “moved out of each other’s company and that has had a positive impact”.
"The difficulty he had at the time was he wasn’t working, he’d no money, had no access to funds and has an alcohol problem,” said Mr McKeown, adding his client is now on benefits.
He was sentenced to three months in jail suspended for 18 months.