Shoplifter stole from shops across Telford, abused staff, terrorised old people and urinated in cell

Shamine Cameron, aged 44 and of Boulton Grange, terrorised customers at a shop in Brookside to such an extent that the shopkeeper would walk with scared, elderly people to their cars to reassure them.

Cameron hurled racial slurs at the shopkeeper, who has been putting up with her for 15 years and banned her from his shop long ago. She told him to "go back where he came from" and terrorised his elderly customers.

That was several months after she stripped off while in a police cell, urinated on a mattress and a floor and spat in the face of a constable who was guarding her. The officer had to go to hospital because Cameron had hepatitis C, a court heard.

Two months before that, Cameron had physically attacked two security guards at Telford's shopping centre who she accused of "picking on her".

In a confrontation with the two guards she tried and failed to pick up a green bin, before picking up a 'wet floor' sign and swinging it at them. One was able to dodge the sign but the other was hit, Telford Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Katie Price told the court of Cameron's crimes, referring first to the attack on the security guards in Telford Centre on November 6 last year.

'She said we were picking on her'

Security officer Darren Owens provided his account of the incident, which Miss Price read to the court.

He said he and his colleague Ben Jaggers had been alerted to the fact Cameron, who had been banned from the shopping centre by exclusion order, was in the area.

Mr Owens and Mr Jaggers followed her to Poundland and asked her to stop. She carried on and exited the centre with the guards following.

"She had been verbally abusive, saying we were picking on her," Mr Owens' statement said.

Cameron spat at Mr Owens then tried to pick up a green bin before giving up and instead picking up a 'wet floor' sign, which she swung at both men. Mr Owens dodged it but Mr Jaggers was hit, the court heard.

She walked away shortly after. She was later convicted of two counts of assault by beating in relation to that incident.

Theft, assault and urinating in a cell

On February 6, Cameron was seen taking a cup of coffee and a bottle of water from Co-op in Stirchley without paying. Police were called and she was arrested.

"Whilst in custody," Miss Price said, "she was searched and officers located a metal scalpel. She was arrested in relation to that.

"She said she didn't know how it had got there and believed the male police officer had put it on her." Cameron later pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article.

At the time Cameron was seen to be wearing Asda George branded clothing with the labels attached, and after investigating police learned she had stolen £124 worth of clothes from Asda in Telford.

She also assaulted a member of staff there who tried to stop her. Cameron wrenched the clothes back from her, causing her arm to bruise and twist painfully.

Cameron was taken into custody at Malinsgate station that day but continued behaving aggressively, Miss Price said. Cameron spat in the face of a police constable, who later had to attend hospital because Cameron had hepatitis C.

In the same incident, Cameron urinated on a mattress then on the floor of the cell she was being kept in.

"That cell does of course have a perfectly working lavatory in it," Miss Price told the court.

'Go back where you came from'

The prosecutor then detailed Cameron's abuse of the owner of the Premier Brookside Supermarket and Post Office, Pritpal Sandhu, in May and June of this year.

Mr Sandhu called police on May 22 after he got into a confrontation at his shop with Cameron.

"He asked her to return something; she told him to f*** off," Miss Price said.

"She then stood outside the store where he followed her out to take the items from her. She became verbally abusive to him, she began shouting racist slurs.

"She then spat at him. This caused no injury, the spittle missed him and landed on the floor.

"She told him 'go back where you came from'. He has known her well for 15 years in the area and has banned her before."

Cameron left but returned on June 1. Mr Sandhu again called the police for help after Cameron again racially abused him.

"He doesn't come to work to be abused," Miss Price said. "She targeted him deliberately because of his race."

She read a statement from Mr Sandhu to the court.

"She shouted all sorts of abuse, accusing me of all sorts. I have to work here. It's not good for my customers.

"Customers are scared to come in because of her behaviour. I have had to walk two elderly customers to their car because of her, in fear of being abused by her.

"The racist terminology she uses is upsetting."

Miss Price also told the court Cameron was convicted of separate thefts of a pair of trainers from Deichmann in Telford Centre, jars of coffee from Co-op in Stirchley and washing items from the Premier in Brookside.

In total on Wednesday she was sentenced for 18 offences including theft from the Co-op, Asda, Premier and Deichmann; the racially aggravated harassment of Mr Sandhu; the assault by beating of the police constable she spat at, Mr Owens and Mr Jaggers; the common assault of the Asda employee; criminal damage to the police cell and possession of a bladed article.

'She is motivated to change'

Mitigating for Cameron, Steven Meredith told the magistrates: "Drug addiction has taken over her life and it's been completely chaotic.

"She wants to put all of this offending behind her and work on changing her life.

"She doesn't want to go on in this way. She is motivated to change.

"Probation have interviewed her and they are of the opinion that they could work with her."

He asked the magistrates to give her a community order rather than a jail sentence so she could work with probation officers, insisting this was "not a soft option".

The magistrates deliberated for just over an hour before delivering their sentence.

Chair of the bench Emma Kidson told Cameron that they considered the racial harassment and the possession of a blade to be the most serious offences.

They gave her a six-month sentence for each of those, both suspended for 18 months and running consecutively. For all of the other offences, they imposed sentences of two months to run concurrently, also suspended.

It means Cameron walked free from court on the condition that she attend 20 rehabilitation activity days and engage with addiction recovery services.

She was also ordered to pay compensation to her victims: £200 to Mr Sandhu; £200 to the police officer she spat at; and £50 each to the security guards and Asda employee.