Wednesbury thief thwarted in bid to be locked up
A man who claimed he stole alcohol from a supermarket because he wanted to be locked up has failed in his bid for prison.
Bungling thief Benjamin Brindley fled from Morrisons in Wednesbury with a shopping trolley filled with £94 worth of beer, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
But when he was arrested the 29-year-old told police the theft had been a deliberate ploy to get himself jailed.
The court was the theft on April 12 occurred two months after Brindley was handed a suspended sentence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning his sister.
Mr Edward Soulsby, prosecuting, explained to the court: "He abandoned the trolley and fled into another shop before coming back out onto the road.
"Initially when police saw him he attempted to hide.
"But when he was apprehended he told the officers his family wouldn't accept the fact he was not jailed for a previous offence."
Mr Soulsby added: "By committing this theft he thought he would get a prison sentence."
Describing Brindley's case as 'unique', Mr Jasvir Mann, mitigating told the court his client had moved to the Black Country after spending most of his life under the watch of Social Services in Staffordshire.
"He committed no crime until he was 24, which means he is not the usual sort of man who comes before the court," said Mr Mann.
He added Brindley started regularly drinking alcohol and 'stealing to survive' after he lost his job five years ago.
"When he moved to Tipton his extended family started to contact him and things became problematic," continued Mr Mann.
"After he was convicted of false imprisonment they were initially sympathetic, but then started to say he should have been jailed.
"He thought their desire would be satiated if he went to prison, but he was naive."
Brindley, of Churchfield Avenue, Tipton, pleaded guilty to theft.
He was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work as part of a 12 month community order.
Judge John Warner warned him: "I have reflected on what's been said on your behalf and have decided exceptionally to take no action on the breach of the suspended sentence.
"But any further breaches will come directly back to me and you are unlikely to get a second chance."
