JAILED: Shoplifter locked up after trying to stab security guard
A thug, who tried to stab a supermarket security guard barely a month after assaulting a shopkeeper, has been jailed for two years.
Ian Bartley drew a knife after being detained and held in a head lock by Colin Whitehouse while trying to flee on a push bike after stealing £98 worth of air fresheners from Asda in Wednesbury, a judge heard.
The 29-year-old shoplifter then warned 'I am going to stab you' and a witness later told police he saw Bartley miss with a swing of the knife towards the back of the security guard, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
Mr Whitehouse managed to grab hold of the arm holding the knife as up to five customers and passers by rushed to help to suppress the thief whose arm was reportedly broken in the ensuing struggle on September 10, continued Mr Howard Searle, prosecuting. He was held until the arrival of police who had been looking for the defendant since August 1 when he attacked shopkeeper Kamraj Sangha.
Mr Sangha was alerted by his staff as Bartley left Sanghar Stores in Church Street, Bilston without paying for nine jars of coffee valued at £31.
There was a scuffle as the defendant desperately tried to escape during which Mr Sangha felt a scratch to his arm after the thief produced a hypodermic needle, said Mr Searle.
Bartley managed to escape but dropped his wallet with ID as he fled while Mr Sangha went to hospital for tests which fortunately showed he had not been infected by the needle, the court heard.
Mr Glynn Cook, defending, said Bartley had been hooked on drugs for years and had suffered a broken arm in the struggle while being detained by around five people outside Asda but added: "He makes no complaint about that."
Bartley from Ferraday Street, Tipton, who had 29 previous convictions involving 60 separate offences which included three security guards being stabbed with a syringe, admitted two thefts, assault and possession of an offensive weapon.
He was jailed for two years by Judge Simon Ward who told him: "You have spent most of your adult life getting into trouble because you have a long term problem with drugs and stealing to fund the habit. The main issue is that rather than going quietly when you are caught, you fight."
