A Newport man who stole a power drill from B&Q because he had no money to feed himself has pleaded guilty to theft.
Ross Minter, 45 of Whitcombe Road in Carisbrooke, pleaded guilty to theft from a shop and breach of a conditional discharge when he appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court on Friday 19th May.
Prosecutor Liz Miller told the court that on the afternoon of Sunday 28th February, at around 14:00, Minter entered B&Q in Newport. Once in the store – and with a pair of pliers in his hand – Minter made his way to the power tools section of the homeware store before removing the security tags of a multi-tool drill.
Minter then proceeded to put the power tool into his rucksack and left the store without making any attempt to pay.
The 45-year-old was made subject to a 12-month conditional discharge order back in June 2022. He admitted in court that he was in fact in breach of that order.
The court heard how Minter has committed over 20 shoplifting offences.
Defending, Oscar Vincent said that his client had recently missed a benefits appointment leaving him with no money as a result. He also added that in attempts to feed himself, he made the decision to ‘desperately steal the drill’.
The case has been adjourned until 16th June to allow a pre-sentence report to be compiled. Minter has been granted unconditional bail until that time.
Starved to death you loser no one cares about you
This is outrageous! How will the B&Q owner feed himself without that drill? He’s trying to starve the owning class!
so he had no money for food, yet stole a drill….clearly lying, as if he needed food, he would have stolen food from a food shop….probably stole the drill to order, to sell on or exchange for drugs
Oscar Vincent said that his client had recently missed a benefits appointment leaving him with no money as a result. Now take his benefits away from him and make him get a job
Leaving your authoritarian Fantasyland for a moment, what do you think would actually happen if you wish actually came true?
What do you think he would actually do if you took away his benefits and how are you going to force an employer to take on someone with a criminal record?
He’ll just end up in prison costing the country around £40k a year.
Or he could have just gone to the benefit meeting if he was that desperate…
So basically if you have a criminal record you can’t get a job?
Would you employ him?
There’s your answer.
stop making excuses for the low life – if it can’t be bothered to support itself, then it should be left in the gutter to starve and freeze.
take away the benefits – it will encourage him to be creative instead of a burden to the rest of us – after all, B and Q staff are reliant on sales being made to generate the money to pay their wages – they don’t need pieces of s hite like this stealing from them
I’m not making excuses, I’m describing the real world exactly as it is. The bloke is scum, but cutting off his benefits and telling him to get a job will just lead to him committing more crime.
He will be creative, all right. We know he nicked this drill to fence it. You know the fence will have contacts. Stop his benefits and he will be drug running or worse.
You can shout and rant about “cutting his benefits” as much as you like, if you feel it is cathartic to do so, but it isn’t ever going to happen because it would actually end up costing society even more.
This is the way the world really works, whether you like it or not.
the world doesn’t work like that, as most countries don’t hand out free money to parasites – you work or you go hungry.
it is just the hand wringing do gooders in the UK that seem to think that the rights of the s cumbag are more important.
Would you offer this bloke a job?
Do you think anyone would?
Basically someone with a substantial acquisitive criminal record will find it nearly impossible to find employment.
So take away their benefits and they have two choices.
Starving or more thieving.
Choose.
I totally get your point. Suppose you have to go back to why people are on benefits in the first place. I do find it irritating that the tax payer has to pay for some people who have decided they don’t want to work with no legitimate reason and just play the system.
So hungry but you forget to attend benefits appt?. Yet can get to B&Q prepared with pliers and Rucksack and steal a drill. Like others said Steal food or actually plenty places in Newport to get free food and food Pantries. He’s a drain on hardworking tax payers – benefits,legal aid, Court time and accommodation. Either sort self and work or should be sent Rawanda and give someone else a chance who are so desperate risk there life and travel thousands of miles to work ( it’s our system that stops them working).
Minter more like munter..go work you lazy git.
Not so desperate – he went tooled up with pliers & a rucksack plus he has a previous track record for theft. Hardly a man driven to desperation & more a seasoned petty criminal