Hungry addict stole food

Carl Daniel Stephens’ unusual diet may have been responsible for his behaviour in Newbury Retail Park, town magistrates heard on Thursday, March 20.
Vivienne Perry, prosecuting, said Mr Stpehens, of Wormersley Road, was warned by a shop manager that he had been spotted as he hid food in his rucksack.
And yet, she added, he still tried to leave the store without paying.
Inevitably, the 21-year-old was apprehended and Miss Perry told magistrates: “He told arresting officers that he was under the influence of drugs and couldn’t remember what he’d just been doing.”
Mr Stephens admitted stealing food worth £19.90 from Poundworld on February 17 this year and thereby breaching a conditional discharge imposed for a prior offence.
His previous convictions also include attempted robbery, the court heard.
Andrew Port, defending, said his client had not eaten for five days and added: “He can’t remember the incident but, clearly, whatever was going on in his mind was influenced as much by hunger as by drugs.
“He has tried to address this problem and got himself a prescription but he has not managed to keep this up.”
Nevertheless, the court heard, Mr Stephens had sought additional help from the substance abuse service provider Turning Point.
Magistrates therefore made Mr Stephens subject to a second conditional discharge, to run for 12 months.
He was also required to pay a statutory surcharge of £15 but no order for costs was made because the defendant had no means of paying.