A prolific shoplifter has been jailed and banned from entering every Co-op store in England and Wales after repeatedly targeting convenience retailers in Colchester.
Scott Butcher, 39, was sentenced to 20 weeks' imprisonment after admitting to stealing more than £500 worth of goods from Co-op and Sainsbury's stores, while also breaching a criminal behaviour order (CBO) that barred him from entering Co-op stores in Essex.
At Ipswich Crown Court on 24 June, Butcher, of Devon Road, Colchester, was sentenced for three thefts from Co-op stores on Peartree Road and Old Heath Road, Colchester, and two thefts from a Sainsbury's store on Layer Road.
The court heard he stole chilled food and detergents worth £507.55 between 3 and 13 March this year, in breach of a three-year CBO imposed in September 2023. He had also previously admitted three breaches of the order.
Butcher was arrested three days after the offences by a Colchester Neighbourhood Policing Team officer who recognised he was wanted in connection with the thefts.
Working alongside Essex Police's Business Crime Team, officers successfully applied to extend Butcher's existing CBO for a further three years, expanding it from Essex to cover all Co-op stores across England and Wales.
PC Mike Lee said the sentence demonstrated the consequences of breaching a criminal behaviour order.
"The court clearly took a dim view of Butcher's re-offending and part of his sentence related to the fact that he had ignored a previous court order banning him from entering those Co-op stores," he said.
"Criminal behaviour orders are not to be taken lightly because, as Butcher has found out, breaching them can result in jail time.
"Shop theft harms businesses, their staff and customers, pushing up prices and insurance premiums, and it has a detrimental effect on the wider community, too."
Lee also urged retailers to continue reporting shop thefts to police and said Essex Police's Business Crime Team was available to provide specialist crime prevention advice to businesses.
In addition to the custodial sentence, Butcher was ordered to pay a £154 court surcharge.