Hinckley scrap metal dealer stole £199 of perfume from Debenhams

A pedestrian on a crossing in the middle of a town centre had to jump out of the way when a shoplifter ignored the red light as he made off in a Transit van.

Hinckley man Joe Sykes then went through another red light and forced his way between cars ahead of him and oncoming traffic as he made his get-away before eventually being stopped by the police.

Sykes (45) a scrap metal dealer of Nutts Lane, Hinckley, pleaded guilty to charges of theft from Debenhams in Stratford and dangerous driving through the town.

At Warwick Crown Court he was given a 12-month community order with a 20-day rehabilitation activity, and was banned from driving for a year.

Prosecutor Rebecca Wade said that in November Sykes parked his white Transit van in High Street, Stratford, and went into the Debenhams department store.

He walked straight to the perfume aisle where he put three bottles of Paco Rabanne perfume worth £199 into a bag and walked out.

A Debenhams security officer who was monitoring the store’s CCTV system saw Sykes sprinting across the road, so quickly checked back on other cameras – and saw the shoplifting taking place.

What happened after the theft?

The employee rushed outside and confronted Sykes, who had got back into the van but had not closed the door, and tried to persuade him to return to the store.

But Sykes drove off, still with the door open, turning into Wood Street where, driving too fast although not exceeding the 30mph speed limit, he went through a red light at a pedestrian crossing, forcing someone using it to jump out of the way.

He went through another red light at the junction with Rother Street and continued along Greenhill Street before turning into Arden Street, forcing his way between traffic ahead of him and bollards at the junction.

Sykes continued along the middle of the road, overtaking cars in the face of oncoming traffic.

He then turned onto Birmingham Road and continued out of the town to the A46 and headed towards Coventry before finally being stopped by the police and arrested.

The stolen perfume was recovered from the van, but when he was interviewed Sykes, who had previous convictions for theft, possessing drugs and driving offences, gave ‘no comment’ replies.

What the judge told Sykes

After reading a pre-sentence report, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano observed: “He’s on and off the drugs.  He gets off them, but when he feels stressed, he goes back.”

Andrew Wilkins, defending, said: “This has come to him as a wake-up call.  Can I do anything else other than re-enforce the suggestion made by the author of the pre-sentence report?”

Asking the judge not to disqualify Sykes for longer than the 12 months minimum, he added that Sykes hoped to keep his scrap metal business running, ‘but it’s going to be difficult without his licence.’

Sentencing Sykes, Judge de Bertodano told him: “You don’t need a lecture from me.  You know as well as I do that you need to put the drugs behind you.

“You have not got a good record for complying with orders, but this is one you’re going to have to do.

“I’m not going to make you do unpaid work.  You work hard, and you need to keep your business going, but you must attend probation whenever they tell you to.”

Sykes told her: “I’ve already made an appointment with Turning Point, and I’ve got family support from my mum and dad.”