Co-op thief who threatened member of staff did it 'to get arrested and get back home'
A shoplifter told magistrates that he stole from a Co-op shop and threatened a staff member to get arrested so he could travel home.
Christopher Francis, aged 33, pleaded guilty to stealing four cans of Special Brew, a bacon bap and a Jalapeno crunch snack valued at £23.55 total from a Co-op shop in Shrewsbury on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.
He also admitted threatening Co-op staff member Jay Donnelly by saying he would "smash his face in" as he was challenged while leaving the shop without paying.
Francis, representing himself at Telford Magistrates' Court on Tuesday told the court that he was using alcohol as a coping mechanism. He had "lost three members of his family in a year" and had been to hospital that same day.
"I had no way of getting home so I got myself arrested to get a travel warrant home," said Francis, of Lon Derw, Newtown.
