A shoplifter in Leicester has been ordered to repay stolen groceries worth over £1,100 after multiple thefts
Leicester: So, there’s this guy named Cory Swannell who got into a bit of trouble. He pulled off 18 thefts, snagging over £1,100 worth of groceries. Crazy, right?
He hit up different shops around Leicester, including Tesco and Co-op, between last summer and December. The poor stores never got their stuff back.
Most of his sneaky moves were caught on CCTV. Some of the thefts even happened after he was already arrested for shoplifting. Talk about bad luck!
In court, the prosecutor pointed out that all those thefts showed some serious planning. They were thinking about giving him a six-month sentence but decided to let him pay back the stores instead.
His lawyer argued that Cory was trying to kick his Class A drug habit and needed help, not jail time. The Probation Service had some ideas on how to support him.
Cory was living on Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments but was only getting £10 a day because he wasn’t managing his money well. The judge said they’d follow the Probation Service’s advice but made sure he had to pay back every penny he stole.
In the end, he got a 12-month community order, 20 days of probation programs, and a six-month drug rehab plan. Hopefully, this helps him turn things around!
