A man named Mark Halford shamelessly stole 90 chocolate bars from a Tesco Express store, on two separate occasions. He had already been banned from entering the premises due to a criminal behaviour order, which he breached.
Halford has a record of 82 dishonesty offences, with shoplifting being the majority. He had already been caught shoplifting 18 times this year before his recent crime spree. The judge sent Halford to prison and questioned why he believed he was exempt from paying his own way in life. The judge made it clear that Halford’s behavior would not be accepted.
During a court hearing at Cardiff Crown Court, Abigail Jackson, the prosecutor, stated that Halford was issued a criminal behaviour order by Gwent Magistrates Court in May of this year, forbidding him from entering any Tesco store in Newport for three years.
However, on August 9, the defendant disregarded this order and entered the Tesco Express store on Clytha Park Road. He proceeded to take £62 worth of cheese from a fridge and attempted to leave the store. An employee confronted him about the ban, but he brandished a six-inch long nail from his pocket and left the store.
The following evening the 46-year-old defendant returned to the shop, and was spotted by the store manager – Halford turned to the manager and said: “What’s your f problem with me?” The court heard the member of staff told the defendant he was banned from the shop and he replied: “I know I am banned. I can do whatever I want.
There’s nothing you can do about it. If you carry on I am going to knock you out.” Halford then brazenly emptied three boxes of chocolate bars containing a total of 90 bars into his bag in front of shop workers before leaving. The court heard that when CCTV from the shop was reviewed it emerged Halford had also been into the shop shortly after it had opened at 7am that morning and stolen another three boxes of chocolate bars.
A man named Mark Halford, from Hillview, Gaer Road, Newport, was arrested by the police for carrying a six-inch nail. He refused to perform a drug test and remained tight-lipped during the interview.
Prior to this, he had already pleaded guilty to breaching a criminal behaviour order, three counts of theft, two public order offences, possession of an offensive weapon, and failing to comply with a drugs test. He had been convicted of 140 offences with 65 of them being for dishonesty and shoplifting alone. He had 23 convictions for shoplifting in the year 2023 alone, and also had convictions for robbery, attempted robbery, handling stolen goods, burglary, and aggravated vehicle-taking.
During the hearing, Halford’s lawyer spoke about how drugs, including crack cocaine, had been affecting the defendant’s life for years and how he was seeking help for the problem.
The recorder, Benjamin Blakemore, pointed out how Halford’s response of “I can do whatever I want” when challenged by Tesco staff showed his lack of regard for rules that apply to everyone. He also emphasized that people working in shops shouldn’t be subjected to such behavior.
Recorder Blakemore sentenced Halford to 23 months in prison with a one-third discount for his guilty plea. This includes 22 months for breaching the criminal behaviour order and the shop offences, and one month for refusing a drug test. Halford will serve half of the sentence in custody before being released on license to serve the remaining period in the community.
