A thief who used a gum-tipped persist with attempt to fish money from a donations field spurned the olive department a decide had provided him.
Decide Michael Gledhill QC advised Shofik Townsend that he had successfully signed his personal custody warrant, as he jailed the Cowley Highway man for 86 weeks on Wednesday.
The decide deferred the would-be treasure seeker’s sentencing final month, when Townsend admitted stealing two bikes and the bungled try to steal cash from a donations field at Fashionable Artwork Oxford.
“Once we final met on August 2, I advised you in impact you had been in final probability saloon and that you simply had been to re-engage along with your probation officer and the probation service who had been supervising your group order,” Decide Gledhill mentioned yesterday.
“It’s fairly clear from studying the deferred sentence report and the Turning Level [drug addiction service] report that you simply haven’t re-engaged.”
The decide added: “I hoped you’ll take the prospect I used to be providing you with. You determined you weren’t going to take it.”
Final month, CCTV was performed to the crown courtroom displaying Townsend strolling into Fashionable Artwork Oxford, on Pembroke Avenue, on April 5.
The granddad, who has virtually 100 earlier courtroom appearances to his identify, could possibly be seen prodding a stick by way of the slot within the donation field earlier than making an attempt to inch a money observe to freedom.
He was initially charged with theft till it was identified that Townsend did not revenue from his twig-assisted larceny efforts and he had gone away empty-handed.
Townsend, of Cowley Highway, Oxford, pleaded responsible to another cost of tried theft. He additionally admitted stealing two bicycles. Allegations that he had assaulted PCSOs whereas they tried to detain him had been dropped by the prosecution in the beginning of his trial in August.
The decide then deferred sentence on circumstances that he keep out of bother, re-engage with the probation service and adjust to an current drug rehabilitation order.
Shofik Townsend Image: TVP
Dana Bilan, mitigating in August, mentioned her consumer had a traumatic childhood and a long-standing drug dependancy.
Yesterday, she mentioned he struggled with reminiscence loss. A key employee from psychological well being charity Thoughts had typically helped him prior to now, reminding him of vital appointments with probation or drug providers.
Nonetheless, he was in hire arrears for a room on the charity’s Cowley Highway facility that had gone unpaid whereas he was on remand. These arrears had made it ‘troublesome’ for him to interact with the important thing employee.
This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the workforce in 2021 as Oxfordshire’s courtroom and crime reporter.
To get in contact with him electronic mail: [email protected]
Comply with him on Twitter: @t_seaward
