Overview
- Ionescu and Mihai, who were sentenced Wednesday at York Magistrates’ Court, received eight-month prison terms suspended for two years with 15 days of rehabilitation each, 200 and 180 hours of unpaid work, and £750 compensation apiece.
- A two-year criminal behaviour order bars both men from every Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Co-op store across the UK.
- North Yorkshire Police linked a run of thefts and stopped the pair on March 3 on the A1(M) near Dishforth after reports in the Harrogate area.
- The men admitted thefts of £4,917.99 in chocolate and coffee across Kent, Surrey, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, including a £670 haul from Sainsbury’s in Malton.
- Their solicitor said they turned to stealing after losing work and taking on debts, and he warned the convictions are likely to harm their immigration status.