Police dog bite is ‘justice for prolific thief’

ACAREER criminal received ‘summary justice’ when a police dog sank its teeth into his arm, a court heard.

Terence Mark Timperley, 39, was wanted by police for a string of thefts across Prestbury, Wilmslow and Knutsford between December 20 and January 16.

But before he could hand himself in, Timperley was snared by a police dog, magistrates were told

e dog bite left him with nasty puncture wounds which hospitalised him for two days, the court heard.

Timperley, of Beckton Gardens, Manchester, admitted the five charges of theft and making off without paying for fuel.

His solicitor argued that the injuries from the police dog amounted to ‘summary justice’.

But magistrates disagreed and jailed him for 18 weeks.

The court heard that Timperley’s crime spree started on December 20 where he stole alcohol worth £105.98 from the Co- op in Knutsford. He then hit the Co- op in Prestbury twice stealing meat worth £150 on December 27 and meat worth £105 on January 6. On January 12 Timperley stole fuel worth £67.78 from Tesco in Wilmslow before heading to the Tesco Express in Wilmslow on January 13 to steal meat worth £59.50. He then returned to Prest- bury’sCo-op to steal meat, alcohol and razor blades worth £187.96.

Debbie Byrne, prosecuting, said on each occasion Timperley was caught on CCTV.

Simon Harrison, defending, said: “Mr Timperley was in custody until December and found himself homeless and unable to support himself. He had fallen back into offending. There was little or no planning or sophistication. The opportunism is a common theme of his offending.

“He had arranged to go into the police station in relation to these offences but police saw him the day before and released the

‘Summary justice has already been dispensed with’

dog. He was left with lacerations and puncture marks. He had to spend two days in hospital. Just by looking at him you can see summary justice has already been dispensed with.”

Magistrates at Macclesfield sentenced Timperley to prison for four weeks for each offence but reduced the term to 18 because of his early guilty plea. He was also ordered to pay compensation of £676.22.

Chair of the bench Felicity Whitelock said: “We are jailing you because of the number of offences you committed in such a short time and your previous offences.”