PO thief set free to have mental health treatment

DEFENDANT WAS FOUND WITH A KNIFE FOLLOWING CRIME

A THIEF has been released from custody so he can receive treatment for mental health illnesses after stealing from a Derbyshire post office.

Kamil Garczynski stole an unknown amount of groceries from Brailsford post office, on the A52 between Derby and Ashbourne, last November, and was later found with a knife.

But before his sentencing, the court heard from Garczynski’s representative that a mental health assessment had been carried out that day which meant that if the 25-yearold was released from custody, he would immediately be sectioned so he could receive treatment. The exact mental health problems concerned were not disclosed in court.

Gareth Gimson, prosecuting, told

Derby Crown Court: “At around 11am, Mr Garczynski entered the post office on November 17, 2021. The owner was watching out for him as he thought Mr Garczynski was acting suspiciously. Mr Garczynski was seen to walk to a freezer, select items and place them into his bag. He left the site making no attempt to pay.

“At around 3pm that day, a knifepoint robbery was committed by a man driving a van. The prosecution formally accepts that it was not Mr Garczynski who did that, but that robbery, having been reported, meant a number of officers attended in the area.

“They came across this defendant, stopped him and searched him. From his left jacket pocket a kitchen knife was recovered. The defendant was interviewed and answered no comment, but it was manifest that there were mental health problems from the outset.”

Mr Gimson told Judge Nirmal Shant QC that DNA found in the van which was involved in the robbery was not that of Garczynski. The blade which he was found with was described by Mr Gimson as a “regular kitchen knife, with a blade three inches, or 10cm, long”.

Garczynski, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to theft from a shop and possession of a bladed article. He has been in custody since November 19, 2021, appearing at the sentencing hearing via video link from HMP Nottingham and speaking through a Polish interpreter.

He had previous convictions dating from August 2021, including a conviction for theft from a shop for which he received a community order just a week before this offence.

However, Mr Gimson said it was unknown for how long Garczynski had been affected by a mental health illness and conceded that this could have been a cause for the offending.

Speaking to Garczynski’s representative William Bennett, Judge Shant said: “I propose to deal with him in a way that enables his liberty today, and I hope that way he can get the help that he needs.” Following the judge’s comments, Mr Bennett made no representations other than to ask for credit for Garczynski’s guilty pleas and to echo the concerns of Mr Gimson surrounding Garczynski’s mental health problems being a cause of his previous offending.

Sentencing Garczynski, Judge Shant said: “You stole some groceries, the amount of which is unknown. The main mitigation in your case seems to be that you have had a mental health breakdown. It seems that over a short period of time, three months or so, at the age of 25 you started indulging in offences.

“Taking that considerable mitigation into account and assuming that it may well be the case that your mental health was the reason for all of that offending, I am going to pass a sentence of custody, but considerably less than it would have been if you were deliberately shoplifting.”

Garczynski was given a two-month sentence for the theft and a consecutive five-month sentence for possessing the knife. However, as he has already served that time in custody, he will be released so he can receive assistance with his mental health.

By enabling his liberty today, I hope that he can get the help that he needs

Judge Nirmal Shant QC