Thief jailed after his 149th offence

A BOTCHED attempt to steal a carrier bag full of razor blades and electric toothbrushes has landed a criminal in jail.

Lance Carroll had gone to Asda at Fosse Park for legitimate shopping reasons but was “unable to stop himself ” shoplifting, Leicester Crown Court heard.

He loaded a carrier bag full of valuable items and went into the toilets, where he ripped off security tags.

But Carroll, a 47-year-old with a dozens of thefts going back to 1992, was stopped at the door.

The police were called and Carroll admitted attempted shoplifting.

The court heard among his 148 previous offences, Carroll had three recent ones that had led to suspended sentences.

In May, he had been given a 20-week suspended sentence for an almost identical offence of trying to steal razor blades.

In June, he was back in court for criminal damage, where the suspended sentence was extended by 18 months and 20 weeks added.

Then, in August, he admitted actual bodily harm after punching a man to the ground in the Haymarket bus station, leaving him with a head injury, resulting in a separate suspended sentence for 20 weeks. Mike Garvey, representing Carroll, said: “Mr Carroll is an inveterate offender and he has been unable to stop himself committing further offences.”

Carroll, of Harris Road, Beaumont Leys, Leicester, was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail for the attempted theft at Asda and an activated 28 weeks of the two suspended sentence orders, meaning a sentence of 40 weeks.

He will spend at least half of the sentence behind bars. Recorder Sunil Khanna told him: “Take this chance and stop offending or the sentences will get longer and longer.”

An inveterate offender, he has been unable to stop himself committing further offences

Mike Garvey, mitigating