A SERIAL shoplifter has been jailed after he tried to walk out of a supermarket with £661 worth of DVDs in his trolley.
Jamie Weetman had only come out of jail for a previous offence two weeks before and was living rough when he carried out his brazen raid on Sainsbury in Newton Abbot.
He was stopped as he left the store without going through the checkout and tried to fob off store detectives by giving them a false name and saying his girlfriend was on the way to pay for the goods.
Weetman, aged 23, was on prison licence at the time after having been released from a sentence for burgling caravans at two holiday parks in Dawlish.
He plans to enrol for a current affairs course when he is released and Exeter Crown Court was told he has been inspired to study politics by meeting his hero Jeremy Corbyn.
Weetman, whose last address was Tor Close, Exeter, admitted theft and was jailed for three months by Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC.
He told him: ‘You have a very substantial record, mostly for shoplifting. It makes very sad reading. I am told you now have plans for your life and want to help others.
‘The last three of four years of your life have been a lost cause and you have spent much of them in prison. Community orders have been made in the past and have not worked, and you are here again.’
Miss Caroline Bolt, prosecuting, said staff at the Newton Abbot branch of Sainsbury became suspicious of Weetman after seeing him pushing a very heavily laden trolley.
He was challenged after leaving without payment and DVDs and other items worth a total of £661.41 were recovered. He gave a false name and claimed he intended to pay for the goods but later admitted the offence.
Miss Bathsheba Cassel, mitigating, said Weetman had not been able to access benefits after leaving prison and was penniless and sofa surfing. He stole because he was desperate for money.
She said: ‘He apologises for what he has done. He plans to start a course at Exeter College and wants to work in politics. He is a big fan of Jeremy Corbyn, whom he has met.
‘His aspiration is to help other people and appreciates there has to be a significant change in the law he leads his life.’