Man jailed for thefts (From Witney Gazette)

Man jailed for thefts

2:15pm Monday 28th January 2008 in Witney

A MAN was jailed for six months today for a number of crimes committed in the Chipping Norton area.

Anthony Simms, 21, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at Banbury Magistrates' Court to the theft of a motor vehicle, a Rover 45 that was stolen from New Road in Chipping Norton overnight on January 14-15 .

He also admitted to driving this vehicle and pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance.

He also admitted three incidents of shoplifting - two in Chipping Norton Somerfield and one at the Co-op in Milton-under-Wychwood - and four other shoplifting offences at Somerfield were also taken into consideration. All seven offences took place in December and January.

Simms was sentenced to six months for the theft of a motor vehicle, six months for the seven shoplifting thefts and three months for driving whilst disqualified, which will be served concurrently.

Det Sgt Craig Kirby, of West Oxfordshire police, said: "Simms is a drug addict who was impelled by his habit to committing a string of minor crimes.

"This culminated in the theft of a car, which he attempted to sell for scrap at a breaker's yard in Banbury for just £80. This is first time he has gone to prison.

"This sentence shows that the police and the criminal justice system will deal robustly with the likes of Simms, who was a thorn in the side of businesses and residents in Chipping Norton and elsewhere."