A habitual shoplifter who swiped almost £30 of chocolate from one shop, told a court he did so because he was showing off to friends.
Mark Driver walked into a Co-op store in Dartford, put bars of chocolate into a bag and walked past the tills and out of the store.
Mark Driver walked into a Co-op store in Dartford and stole £27.85 worth of chocolate from inside
A court heard the 52-year-old snatched the goods, worth £27.85, from the store on November 14, last year.
However, Driver, who has 75 past convictions for theft, was recognised by staff and the police were notified and he was later charged with shoplifting.
Driver, of Burnham Road, Dartford, admitted the offence when he appeared before magistrates in Medway on January 15.
Terry Knox, prosecuting, said: “He walked past the till with the items in a bag and staff recognised him as a regular shoplifter and the matter was reported to police.
“He later attended North Kent police station for a voluntary interview.
Mark Driver told a court he stole the chocolate to show off to friends
“He has 75 other theft offences on his record.
“The last was in June [last year] when he got a fine and he’d breached a conditional discharge.”
Mr Knox also read out a victim impact statement from the manager of the store which said shoplifting raised prices for other customers and took staff off the shop floor when they had to deal with incidents and that it’s not a victimless crime.
Wayne Crowhurst, defending, said his client had been a habitual shoplifter for some time, but had now turned the corner as he had got off illicit drugs.
He added: “He’s not on a methadone script and looks much healthier and lives with his parents.
Mark Driver was said to be a habitual shoplifter but because of his drug habit, but had now turned a corner and was on a methadone script
“He told me he didn’t know why he did it, he had been with a group on that day and perhaps did it to show off.”
Magistrates decided to place Driver on a two-year conditional discharge and ordered he pay the Co-op £27.85 compensation and also ordered he pay a victim surcharge of £26 and £85 court costs.
Driver will pay what he owes the court at a rate of £20 a month as he receives benefits.