M&S security guard faces jail for fatal punch to shoplifter

A MARKS AND SPENCER security guard faces jail after being convicted for killing a shoplifter with one punch.

Jason Page, 51, died from a bleed on the brain after Sabeur Trabelsi, 44, chased him from a branch of the retailer in Reading, Berks, and felled him with one punch.

The security guard was on his final shift and gave chase after Page and his accomplice “brazenly” stole £300 worth of meat and beer in March 2020.

Yesterday, a jury took four hours of deliberation before convicting Trabelsi of manslaughter after they heard how the security guard delivered a “knock- out blow” to Page, who was homeless and died of his injuries later.

After he was arrested, Trabelsi tried to claim that Page had been drunk and had fallen and hit his head, and denied punching him. However, CCTV footage showed otherwise and the jury convicted him of manslaughter and perverting the course of justice. The manslaughter conviction means that he could be jailed for up to eight years.

Judge Amjad Nawaz rejected a plea by Trebelsi’s defence counsel for him to be granted bail before being jailed to “put his affairs in order”. During the prosecution’s summary of the case, it was revealed that Trebelsi told police in interviews: “I was frustrated. I know I shouldn’t have done it.” CCTV played to the jurors showed Page being wrestled to the ground as store manager Elliot

Cripps, who was cleared of perverting the course of justice, managed to retrieve the meat from him. When Page got back on his feet, Trabelsi delivered a “knockout blow”, causing him to fall and crash on to the pavement.

Trabelsi allegedly changed his story numerous times, initially claiming the victim had tripped backwards and hit his head, and then suggesting he fell after a tussle over the stolen meat.

The cause of Page’s death was listed as a head injury.