A homeless man stole to purchase drugs to escape from his bleak reality, a court heard.
Hojat Fatahi admitted stealing from four shops in Huddersfield.
When he was arrested police caught him with a bag of Class A drug Subutex.
Kirklees magistrates heard that the 33-year-old faces deportation and uses drugs to as a means of escapism as he cannot get a job, benefits or accommodation.
His spate of shoplifting began at Morrisons in Waterloo on April 12. Fatahi tried to conceal a bottle of Jack Daniels in a bag but was caught and the item was returned to the store.
He tried to steal the same brand of whisky again from Sainsbury’s in Southgate a week later.
Staff confronted him after he removed the security tag from the bottle and hid it in his backpack.
He was arrested and taken to Dewsbury Police Station where the Subutex tablets were discovered in a small clear bag on him.
Prosecutor Vanessa Jones explained that the drug is illegal when not taken under supervision by a healthcare professional.
Fatahi then targeted stores inside the Kingsgate Shopping Centre on April 13 and 15.
On the first date he took a Prison Break DVD box set from HMV. This was not recovered but the theft was spotted on the store’s CCTV cameras.
Then he was caught stealing two bottles of Lancome perfume worth £200 from House of Fraser.
Magistrates were told that he had 23 previous offences to his name.
Sonia Kidd, mitigating, explained that her client is living on the streets and sometimes sleeps outside the Huddersfield court.
She said: “He has papers served upon him by immigration and he’s homeless and cannot get accommodation. He is unable to claim benefits and is not allowed to work.
“He accepts that he takes Class A drugs for the purpose that he no longer has to care about the fact that he has nowhere to live and no support.
“Things have got to such a point that quite sadly he’s committing offences of theft to fund drugs and feed himself.
“It’s an escape but it’s not an escape that lasts for long. It cannot continue and he’s trying to actively deal with the difficulties he finds himself in.”
Magistrates adjourned sentencing until May 10 so that Fatahi can be assessed for possible drug rehabilitation.
