During October 2023, Jamie Hopkins and Adam Roberts were both subject to criminal behaviour orders that banned them from entering several retail outlets including any Co-op store.
However on 19 October, Hopkins attempted to steal boxes of cigarettes from behind a counter at the Co-op in Talbot Lane, Swanscombe. He was challenged by a shop worker before leaving the scene. Three days later, Hopkins and Roberts stole a quantity of meat and laundry products from the same premises and then on 27 October, two bottles of spirits were stolen by Roberts from behind a counter at the Co-op in Oldfield Place, Dartford and the following day, both men were arrested after they were seen by a local police officer entering the Co-op in Castle Hill, Ebbsfleet.
Hopkins from Dartford and Roberts, of no fixed address, were both charged by investigators from the North Kent Victim Based Crime Team, with one count of theft and three breaches of their criminal behaviour orders. Roberts, aged 36, was also charged with a burglary at the Co-op in Oldfield Place, Dartford and Hopkins, aged 39, with a count of burglary at the Co-op in Talbot Lane, Swanscombe.
Both pleaded guilty at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Monday 30 October and were remanded in custody and on Tuesday 14 May 2024 at Maidstone Crown Court, Hopkins and Roberts were both jailed for 10 months.
Police Sergeant Dan Horsley said:
‘These men have showed complete contempt for the law by continuing to shoplift while under conditions imposed by a court, not to enter the premises they were targeting.
‘This type of crime ultimately increases prices for law-abiding customers and can have an impact on the ability of some shops to continue trading. Criminal behaviour orders are a chance for offenders to moderate their behaviour and, if they fail to seize this opportunity, a prison sentence is the most likely sanction.’