Jail for Pleasley man who stole everything from sandwiches to bicycles to fund drug habit
A Pleasley man who stole everything from sandwiches to bicycles in Kirkby during a three-week spree to fund his “entrenched” drug habit has been jailed, magistrates have heard.
CCTV captured Alex Swain stealing £74 of washing-up liquid from Tesco Express on May 25, and £105 of sandwich and sweets from Morrisons Daily on June 4 and 7.
Prosecutor Becky Allsop said the 24-year-old also stole a £120 mountain bike from outside an address on Poplar Avenue on June 11.
The next day he stole another bicycle but it was returned shortly after a campaign was posted on social media.
In the early hours of June 13, he and an accomplice smashed a windscreen and stole £15 in change. The car's owner had to foot a £130 repair bill.
The court heard he has 15 previous convictions for 57 offences, 18 of which are for theft and kindred offences.
He was last before the courts in August 2023 when he was jailed for criminal damage and taking a vehicle without consent.
Simon King, mitigating, said: “An entrenched and ongoing drug problem is at the heart of all these offences.”
He said Swain, who deserves credit for his guilty pleas, had made some progress by reaching out to a substance abuse charity.
Mr King told the bench he might have persuaded them of another disposal but the defendant is currently remanded to face a separate charge at Nottingham Crown Court on July 26.
Swain, of Chesterfield Road North, Pleasley, admitted all seven offences at previous hearings.
On Wednesday, magistrates in Mansfield sentenced him to 24 weeks in prison. He was ordered to pay £444 compensation.