Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
City shoplifters caught
Multiple arrests have been made as police look to crack down on shoplifting – with CCTV of a swift bust released to warn off wannabe thieves. Officers in Canterbury had been working in and around the city to target offenders on Thursday, April 11.
Danny Myers was arrested in the city centre after being identified by police as a suspect linked to the theft of high-value supplements from Holland and Barrett last month.
He was also linked to another offence at the same store on April 9 and the 46-year-old , of River View, Canterbury, was charged with two counts of shoplifting and one count of criminal damage to a police cell and sent to court, which he admitted at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on April 12. He was given a 12-month community order and told to pay compensation to the victims. Elsewhere, plain clothes officers in M&S Simply Food near
Sturry Road saw a man appear to conceal items in his clothing. James Highwood, 36, of no fixed address, was arrested outside and charged with stealing a joint of meat and champagne worth £75. He pleaded guilty on April 12 to the charges at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court.
He was given a 20-day sentence, suspended for one year, and a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement and told to pay compensation. A further arrest came after officers identified a man who had stolen alcohol from Tesco in Gravel Walk last week.
After liaising with store bosses, the matter was dealt with by way of a community resolution, which involved the suspect writing a letter of apology and recognising the issues behind his offending.
Twelve stop and searches were also carried out, one of which resulted in the seizure of cannabis.