A man has been jailed over a string of thefts from Huddersfield stores – and his own solicitor agreed he had to go to prison.
John McCarthy, 43, stole alcohol from several shops.
His solicitor told magistrates that his client’s addiction to drink had become so severe that he knocked back nine litres of strong cider a day.
McCarthy, of no fixed address, appeared before Kirklees magistrates.
He admitted stealing two cases of lager from the One Stop Shop in Moldgreen on June 5.
On June 25 the alarms at Sainsbury’s Local in Lindley sounded after he tried to steal eight cans of Special Brew lager.
McCarthy admitted further thefts from a branch of the Co-op on June 20 and 28.
He also admitted failing to surrender to court previously, failing to comply with a community order and breaching a conditional discharge.
Carl Kingsley, mitigating, admitted that a prison sentence for his client was inevitable.
He said: “He has a severe alcohol dependency, it’s now no longer a choice for him and has become an illness. Nine litres of strong cider per day is his current intake.
“He can’t seem to stop stealing alcohol to deal with the addiction. There’s no argument, it has to be prison.”
Magistrates sentenced McCarthy to 28 weeks in custody.
