Romanian thief faces deportation after Worcester Boots raids

Cornel Gheorghe had a temper tantrum the last time he was at Worcester Crown Court earlier this month over prison videolink, shouting, putting his head in his hands, waving his arms about and banging his fist on a table as he wailed: "I was hoping to go home today!"

He is expected to get his wish - but perhaps not in the sense he meant - as a judge jailed him for 16 months on Friday. The Home Secretary is required to deport any foreign national who has received a custodial sentence of at least 12 months, unless a specified exception applies.

On Friday the defendant, who had been brought from HMP Pentonville on a prison van, interrupted a city judge several times during his sentencing hearing.

Judge Martin Jackson told the shoplifter, who claims to have a sick child in Romania, that the defendant had lied about his address and gave conflicting accounts about when he had lost his job, indicating to him that he could not be believed.

When the 34-year-old tried to interrupt, talking in an animated way to his interpreter, Judge Jackson raised his voice and pointed his finger at the defendant, jabbing it at him several times and warning him: "I don't want an interruption!"

But when the defendant continued to argue from his seat in the dock, the judge told Gheorghe 'I'm not here to listen to you', causing him to fall silent.

Nick Berry, prosecuting, opened the case for a second time, telling the court that Gheorghe had stolen a total of £8,227 worth of goods from Boots during three separate raids in which he made off with cosmetics and other products, including toothbrush heads, No7 skincare creams, mascara and razor blades, emptying them into carrier bags and gift bags.

This was at a time when city businesses were struggling though the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of lockdown. Gheorghe carried out the raids on October 19 last year at 4.43pm when he stole £4,494 of goods, October 26 last year at 3.18pm and 3.43pm when he stole £2,748 and November 2 at 5.05pm when he stole £984 worth of goods. During one incident he was seen on CCTV to clear shelves of No7 skin creams. However, he was detained by Debenhams loss prevention officers and arrested at 5.46pm that same day.

In police interview he told officers he had been 'under pressure to provide for his two young children, one of whom was poorly' and he disputed the value of the items he had stolen (although he now accepts the figure, the court heard).

Amber Morrell, defending, said her client had entered his guilty pleas at the earliest available opportunity following admissions made at Worcester Police Station. He had worked in a car wash but, due to Covid-19, they had all closed down. She said he had come to Worcester to find work, not to steal.

Ms Morrell also said: "Boots is a large company. In the context of their revenue, the loss isn't as significant as it would be for small independent retailers."

The solicitor told the court her client had already served the equivalent of an eight month custodial sentence after he was remanded in custody on January 5 this year.

Asking for an adjournment, she confirmed his immigration status was being reviewed even before the hearing but the judge ruled that this did not prevent him proceeding to sentence.

A court probation liaison officer, who interviewed Gheorghe down in the cells, said: "He stated that being in HMP Pentonville has been a significantly painful lesson for him."

The defendant also told the officer that approximately two and a half months before he began committing these offences that he had not been paid by his employer and 'out of desperation turned to this offending behaviour'. However, the judge rejected the recommendation for a curfew and an exclusion order from Boots, telling the defendant that he must serve a sentence of immediate custody.

Judge Jackson told Gheorghe: "It's clear to me that you were deliberately targeting the same shop. I find it particularly striking that these offences are committed about the same time of day, seven days apart.

"It suggests to me there was significant planning because it indicates to me that you had identified a shop that would be vulnerable at a particular time of day and, quite possibly, on the same day of the week. I consider I am dealing with someone who is a professional thief."

Judge Jackson said he was satisfied the thief had used a lookout during the thefts. The judge also noted that Gheorghe had committed offences at Boots in Ipswich on January 4 this year, stealing £44 of razor blades, and B&Q in Enfield on February 4 this year when he stole £600 of door locks.

He further noted that the defendant had a foil-lined bag or box for hiding the stolen goods. Judge Jackson said there was 'a pattern of dishonesty in your dealings with the police and the courts'.

For example, he said Gheorghe told police he had lost his job when he was interviewed by police in Worcester following the theft on November 2 last year. However, when he was interviewed by police in Ipswich on January 4 this year, the defendant claimed he had lost his job on December 23 last year.

"It seems to me that the loss of job story is something that is used as a convenient excuse," the judge told him.

He also said Gheorghe had given an incorrect address to the court and this only came to light when the 'true occupier of the address' wrote to the court. He went on to describe the defendant as 'someone who cannot be believed'. The judge told Gheorghe that, were he to impose a community order or a suspended sentence order, 'it would be breached repeatedly'.

Judge Jackson sentenced Gheorghe to 16 months immediate custody. Time spent on remand will count towards the length of time he serves.