Worksop: Thief jailed for 19 weeks

Darren Stocken, 37, of Clinton Street, Worksop, committed the offence whilst subject to a conditional discharge for a previous theft. He was also in breach of the bail act.

Worksop Magistrates’ Court heard how on the 4th July 2014 Stocken stole electrical items from a compound at B&Q.

He said that he took the items because he noticed that cords were missing from the cutters and he wanted to fix them.

In mitigation, it was said that Stocken had been trying to make patio furniture to support his family which is why he stole the items.

His previous theft occurred on 30th May 2014, which he also admitted, when he stole a handbag and cash from a car by smashing a window.

Stocken originally said that he saw a child playing with a hammer in a garden which is why his fingerprints were on the weapon.

CCTV showed Stocken smashing the window but also showed him helping the vehicle owner clean up the broken glass. He said this was because he was ‘feeling guilty.’

District judge, Diane Baker, sentenced him to 12 weeks for the theft from B&Q, six weeks for the handbag theft, one week for breaching the bail act and one week to run concurrently for committing an offence whilst subject to a conditional discharge.