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Police have tracked down two men suspected of a spate of shop thefts in the Medway Towns.
It is reported multiple Nike fleeces were stolen from Sports Direct in Gillingham High Street on Tuesday 12 November 2024 in which an employee who tried to intervene suffered an injury to their leg during the incident.
Kent Police was subsequently notified of three separate thefts on Friday 15 and Tuesday 19 November where coats, jackets and other clothing items worth more than £2,200 were reportedly stolen from Footlocker in the Chatham Pentagon Centre and TK Maxx in Chatham High Street.
A further attempt to steal items from Sports Direct in Strood High Street was allegedly foiled by staff and the suspect fled to a waiting car. Officers completed enquiries into a vehicle thought to be connected to the incidents which led to a search at an address where a suspect was detained. Two wraps of cocaine were also seized during the arrest.
A man aged 23 from Gillingham, was later charged with five counts of theft, assault and possession of a class A drug.
A second suspect aged 46 and from Rochester was subsequently arrested in connection with the investigation and later charged with three counts of theft at Hempstead Valley shopping centre. These related to clothing items worth more than £1,900 reportedly stolen from JD Sports, Marks and Spencer, plus TK Maxx between Saturday 16 and Tuesday 19 November. He was also charged with making off without payment for fuel at a petrol station in Rochester.
Both men were remanded to Medway Magistrates’ Court. The Gillingham man was conditionally bailed on Thursday 21 November to appear at the same court on 4 February 2025 and the Rochester man has a hearing on Friday 22 November.