A SHOPLIFTER from Chard has been sent to prison for eight weeks after he stole three times while serving a suspended sentence.

Keith Adams, 46, of Henson Park, appeared at Exeter Law Courts on Thursday, May 9 charged with three counts of theft from a shop.

Court documents say he committed the offences with Leihan Dawe, 37, who he shares an address with. She was sentenced for the three thefts last month.

Court documents say they stole:

  • Items valued at £155 from Marks and Spencer Simply Food on January 10
  • Items valued at £150 from Marks and Spencer Simply Food on February 1
  • Items valued at £118.95 from the Honiton BP/M&S garage on February 27.

Adams gave an indicated guilty plea for each offence.

Magistrates handed him an eight-week prison sentence, saying his offences are “so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified” and they were “committed during the operational period of a suspended sentence”.

He was also told to pay a total of £211.97 in compensation. His guilty plea was taken into consideration when he was sentenced.

On April 16, Dawe was given a nine-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, after she gave indicated guilty pleas.

Magistrates also told her to pay  £211.97 in compensation and said she “has a flagrant disregard for court orders”.