A ‘prolific thief’ from Milford Haven with 37 convictions of theft to his name has been fined in court for three shoplifting matters that were captured on CCTV last month.
Forty-one-year-old Ian Michael Power, of Larch Road, Mount Estate, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday, to plead guilty to three charges of theft.
The first occurred on June 2, when he stole a set of tools from the Home Bargains store.
On June 22, Mr. Power stole food items from Iceland; and the following day fresh meat from the same store.
All three matters occurred in Milford Haven, prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told magistrates.
“This man is well known to the court. He has 95 recorded convictions against him, 37 for theft, and is clearly a prolific thief!
“Mr. Power was not apprehended at the time, all matters were caught on CCTV. None of the goods were recovered, and he made full admissions to all offences when interviewed by the police,” added Mr. Pritchard-Jones.
Defence solicitor Mike Kelleher told the court that the offences took place at a time when the defendant was short of money.
“He had issues with the Department of Social Security and his money had been stopped at the time. He took the meat to eat.
“Mr. Power has made appointments with his doctor to try and help prevent him from taking illegal substances, and he is having dental treatment on Friday, so for the first time in a long time he will have teeth, which might not sound like a big deal, but it is to him!
“He kept repeating to police when interviewed that he wanted a clean slate,” added Mr. Kelleher.
Magistrates fined Mr. Power a total of £120 for all three offences, and ordered him to pay £55 compensation to Iceland and £9.98 to Home Bargains.
He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.