Co-op Finkle Lane Gildersome: Serial shoplifter nicked £145 worth of steaks from Leeds supermarket

David Hallas plagued numerous stores in the city, taking huge quantities of meat, coffee and electric razors on various sprees.

The 40-year-old nuisance, who stole in order to fund his drug addiction, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court yesterday (June 6).

The court heard that on March 9, the manager of the Co-op supermarket on Finkle Lane, Gildersome, noticed that a number of steaks were missing from the fridge section.

They had been taken by Hallas and an accomplice. The steaks and the security boxes that contained the meat were valued at £145.

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In a statement, the store manager said: “Although this does not affect me personally, these constant thefts have a financial impact on the Co-op and puts the store at risk of closure.”

Days later, Hallas snatched £48 worth of meat from an Aldi store. And two days after that, he was at a B&M in the city where £150 worth of coffee was taken.

The court heard that when the store manager approached the defendant, he simply ignored him and continued to pocket items.

Later that day, on March 22, he was at the Shell Service Station in Morley, helping himself to cheese and butter.

April 26 saw him take his most valuable haul – a back pocket-full of electric razors worth around £200 from an Asda supermarket.

Another incident saw him visit a B&M three times on the same day, mostly taking washing up liquid.

He returned two days later for fabric conditioner. In total, more than £500 worth of goods were stolen by Hallas across a two-month period.

Defending, Lily Wildman said: “Unfortunately, the defendant is a drug user. He is determined to give up and hopefully the work he is doing in custody will continue.

“He lost his mother in January and I’m told this set him back with his drug usage and spate of offending.”

Hallas, of Oddfellow Street, Morley, pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft from a shop, two counts of refusing to provide a sample which happened while in custody, one count of failing to surrender, and a count of burglary in relation to an incident at a bar in December.

Judge Tom Bayliss KC told him: “You are a drug addict and you have problems because of that. But you know what you are doing and there is a degree of sophistication, you are not just impetuously stealing things. You are doing it to get money to buy drugs.”

He jailed Hallas for two years.