MAN WHO STOLE MEAT FROM SAINSBURY’S ORDERED TO PAY COMPENSATION OF £100

A Newport man who stole several hundreds of pounds worth of meat from Sainsbury’s has been ordered to pay compensation to the national supermarket chain. Ian Wathen, 42, of Barton Road in Newport, pleaded guilty to 2x theft from a shop and 2x possession of a controlled drug of Class B earlier this week. Prosecutor Liz Miller told the court that on 22nd June at around 18:10, Wathen entered Sainsbury’s in Newport with a bag for life and filled it with various meat products including steak, ripping off the security tags before leaving the store, making no attempts to pay. Just 8 days later, Wathen repeated the theft stealing around £150 worth of produce. Wathen was also caught in possession of cannabis resin on 2nd October in Church Litten and again on 10th November on Sea Street. The 42-year-old former chef was handed a conditional caution back in September following previous theft offences. As part of that sentence, he was ordered to pay compensation and complete an alcohol diversion course. Defending Wathen, Barry Keel said that his client was in a much better place than he was back in June and that he has reduced his alcohol consumption down to just 8 cans a week, as opposed to the 3 bottles of wine a day he would drink at his peak. Magistrates fined Wathen £40 and ordered he pay costs of £85 and a £16 surcharge fee. He was ordered to pay compensation to Sainsbury’s of £100.