A man has been jailed after a string of thefts from BP garages, which were committed while he was subject to a court order banning him from all BP service stations in Essex.
Jon Lee admitted stealing hundreds of pounds-worth of beer, meat, deli items and desserts from the town’s BP shops in East Mayne and Nether Mayne and another in London Road, Hadleigh between September 10 and November 7, 2023. He also pleaded guilty to stealing £650-worth of goods from B&M Stores at Southend Airport on September 5, 2023.
Basildon Crown Court heard that Lee was subject to a criminal behaviour order imposed in June 2023, which banned him from all BP service stations in Essex for three years.
In all, Lee admitted 16 counts of shop theft and 11 breaches of the criminal behaviour order.
He also pleaded guilty to bringing or conveying a ‘list A’ prohibited article into Chelmsford Prison on August 6, 2022. A prison officer spotted him passing a package of cannabis to a prisoner he was visiting at the time.
Lee was jailed for a total of 30 months – 18 months for the CBO breaches and 12 months for the cannabis offence. A two-month sentence for the shop thefts was ordered to run concurrently. An order was also made for forfeiture and destruction of the cannabis.
PC Alex Plakhtienko, from Essex Police’s specialist Business Crime Team, said that Lee had continued to offend prolifically despite being given a chance to mend his ways.
“Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. Offenders’ behaviour can affect staff and customers in the shops they target and we in the Business Crime Team work with retailers and staff to prevent this.
“Through our Open For Business, Closed For Crime campaign, we encourage staff to report incidents of abuse and violence so we can take action and put offenders before the courts.
“And we have a duty to protect all victims of crime from repeat offenders. One way we can do this is by applying to the courts for criminal behaviour orders, which impose certain restrictions and requirements intended to prevent someone re-offending.
“However, breaching such an order can result in a prison sentence, as Lee discovered when he appeared before the judge.”
