A Llanelli man who made a ‘drunken and clumsy’ attempt to steal lotion and batteries from a shop in Tenby has been charged in court.
Forty-six-year-old Michael Morgan, of Basset Terrace, Pwll, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday, charged with stealing items to the value of £10.99, from the Savers store, on May 5.
He pleaded guilty to the offence along with a further charge of being in possession of 5 grams of cannabis.
Prosecutor Abul Hussain told the court that Mr. Morgan had been reported as leaving the store without paying for the items and was located a short distance away by police officers.
“The stolen items were recovered and when Mr. Morgan was searched, the drugs were found on him. He has lots of previous convictions on record and last year was handed a 12 month conditional discharge,” he added.
Defence solicitor Peter Rhys-Jones told the court that it was a ‘fairly inept theft’ that Mr. Morgan had attempted.
“He was drunk, clumsy and easily seen. He has very similar thefts on record in the past, but his offending has been spaced out for periods of time. Mr. Morgan manages to stay out of trouble when subject to a conditional discharge,” he explained.
Magistrates fined the defendant £80 for the theft and a further £80 for the drugs possession. Mr. Morgan was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.