A homeless Falmouth teen stole hundreds of pounds worth of meat, games consoles and power tools in a six month crime spree.
Thomas Percival Bowden, of no fixed abode, appeared in Truro Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged with seven counts of theft, non-payment of a fine, and failing to comply with a court order.
He was also charged with breaking a reinforced glass window in Camborne Tesco.
The 19-year-old pleaded guilty to all charges and was given a six month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
The catalogue of offences started on February 2, when Bowden stole £100 of tablets from Boots in Camborne.
Two days later he returned to the shop and pinched £680 worth of cosmetics.
Later that month, on February 22, he shoplifted £300 worth of games consoles from Tesco Extra in Pool.
In the first week of March he stole £88.22 worth of meat from Aldi in Camborne before attempting to steal eight joints of pork and two joints of beef worth £130.97 from the Camborne Tesco on March 11 and breaking the window in the process.
A month later, on April 8, he stole £165.43 worth of frozen food from Asda Penryn.
Two days after that he stole a £100 jig-saw from B&Q Penryn, before returning to the store the following week to make off with a £149.98 drill.
In between those dates, on April 12 he stole £77.83 worth of beef from the Tesco in Redruth. His thieving spree came to an end on June 26, when he stole £60 worth of meat from Camborne Co-op.
Delivering judgement on Bowden, chair of the magistrates, John Richardson, handed down a custodial sentence as the offences were “so serious.”
He is a “prolific offender” who failed “to respond to other penalties of the court,” the judgement reads.
Alongside his suspended sentence, Bowden was ordered to undertake a drug rehabilitation course and attend his supervision appointments.
The fine was remitted due to “no current means.”
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