Face of jailed serial shoplifter who's been banned from Tesco, the Co-op and BP garages in Southend
A serial shoplifter has been made to pay the price of his offending as he begins a prison sentence for more than a dozen offences. Simon Price, 38, of Dapple Close in Rochford, has recently started a period of time behind bars due to his behaviour.
Price was arrested on May 1 after an incident in London Road, Westcliff-on-Sea. He was charged by officers with 16 counts of shoplifting, two counts of assault by beating and one count of possession of an offensive weapon, harassment and a public order offence.
Court documents state the items stolen by Price included £96 worth of coffee jars, £125 worth of salmon, chicken and flapjacks, and 29 boxes of chocolate worth a combined £125. The estimated combined total of his thefts was more than £1,200.
ALSO READ: Family-run pub with 'outstanding' service named the best 'destination' in Essex
READ MORE: Face of Essex man who murdered his 'loving' sister and hid her body with a tarpaulin
On Friday (May 3) he appeared at Southend-on-Sea Magistrates' Court where he was found guilty of shoplifting, possessing an offensive weapon and assaults by beating. He was sentenced to 50 weeks imprisonment and given a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order.
This means he will be banned from entering any Tesco, BP garage and Co-op in Southend. He is also banned from the Morrison’s store in London Road, Hadleigh, and the One-Stop store in Sutton Road, Southend.
Following the conviction, Sergeant Stephen Wells said: “This sentence was made possible thanks to our Operation Raker – we have dedicated officers targeting prolific offenders in our community and bringing them to justice.”
"Price’s was prolific; his shoplifting all took place across the last month. He was stealing from shops across Southend and the surrounding area every other day. He now has the time to consider his behaviour in prison before he is released and must follow the rules set out in his CBO or face returning to jail.
"We are making it as clear as possible – you cannot assault shop workers, you cannot shoplift and you cannot carry a weapon in Essex and get away with it. We don’t tolerate persistent anti-social behaviour and want Southend to be a safe place to live, work and visit."