A prolific shoplifter from Swansea has been jailed after targeting numerous businesses in the local area.
47-year-old Richard Wolsey, of no fixed abode, entered numerous supermarkets and convenience stores around Cadle, Portmead, Fforestfach, Penlan and the city centre, leaving with items to the value of as much as £657 in one instance.
Video footage shared by South Wales Police shows three of the incidents, where Wolsey can be seen brashly selecting items and walking out without making any attempt to pay.
On Thursday, April 16 at 7.35am Wolsey is seen entering One Stop Shop on Pentregethin Road. He wanders for a short while before he picks up a three-and-a-half tall pink display case of chocolate before walking off.
The value of the chocolate taken was £90. On Tuesday, April 14 at 8.03pm Wolsey is captured on CCTV entering Tesco Express on Carmarthen Road. He appears to reach up to high shelf and grabs a pile of chocolate, which he did not pay for.
The value of the items stolen on this occasion was £169.15. On Tuesday, May 5 at 3.39pm Wolsey is seen inside the Co-op store on Walters Road, where he steals a pack of alcohol worth £7.
Wolsey pleaded guilty to six counts of theft from a shop at Swansea Magistrates’ Court on May 11 and has been sentenced to eight months in prison.
PC Christian Thomas said: “Richard Wolsey is a persistent offender who has never shown any signs of attempting to change his ways.
“Shop workers should not have to deal with petty thieves targeting their businesses. But Richard Wolsey cares not a jot for those whose lives he makes harder with his shoplifting.
“We will relentlessly pursue anyone involved in shoplifting, especially those persistent offenders like Richard Wolsey, and they will be sent to prison.”