Thief who stole to fund drug habit sentenced

A thief who targeted shops across Ely, Littleport and Burwell has been jailed for 34 weeks.

Michael King, 43, of no fixed address, stole items including meat, fruit, cheese and alcohol as well as small kitchen appliances like a toaster and slow cooker between 19 June and 10 October.

He stole from Co-Op in Burwell, BP in Ely and Littleport, Specsavers in Ely and Sainsbury’s in Ely.

On August 6 he was also arrested for being in possession of a wooden baton.

At Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (12 December), King was sentenced to 34 weeks in prison, after previously pleading guilty to 10 counts of theft, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and two counts of possession of cannabis.

PC Kyle Marsden, who investigated, said: “King openly admits he steals to fund his drug habit and has pledged to turn his life around following this latest spell of offending. We hope this is the case, not only for his own health and wellbeing, but also for those who work in or shop at the businesses he has targeted over the past six months.”