Man, 44, jailed for shopliftings in Lymington and Pennington

A 44-year-old man from Hythe has been jailed for eight weeks for stealing from stores in Lymington and Pennington.

James Dempsey, of Butts Ash Gardens, Hythe was sentenced at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday 4 May.

It follows the following six shopliftings from Waitrose, Lymington and Tesco Express, The Square, Pennington between Tuesday 30 April and Friday 3 May;

• On Tuesday 30 April, Dempsey stole £100 worth of meat items from Waitrose.
• On the following day, he stole an unknown value of meat and £13.75 worth of cider on three visits to Tesco Express.
• Then, on Friday 3 May, he was responsible for the theft of two boxes of beer and a sandwich on two further trips to Tesco Express.

Dempsey pleaded guilty to all six thefts, as well as a public order offence in which he verbally abused and threatened a member of staff at a business in Pennington on Friday 3 May.