A career criminal grandfather who bit a Sainsbury's security guard and threatened to "stab him with a dirty needle" has been jailed. William Woodward, 41, turned violent after being caught stealing coffee, only days after burgling the same supermarket and taking hundreds of pounds worth of Lego.
Burglary and theft at Walton supermarket
Liverpool Crown Court heard Woodward gained access to Sainsbury's on Rice Lane in Walton by walking through open delivery doors while a wagon was dropping off stock at around 3am on July 21. He was seen walking around the supermarket in a hi-vis vest before pulling out a large bag for life in the toy department and selecting six Lego sets, valued at £230, before sneaking back out of the store.
He returned to the same premises eight days later at around 1.45pm on July 29 and began placing jars of coffee into his JD Sports bag. As he made towards the exit without attempting to pay for the £54 worth of goods, he was confronted by a security staff member.
Assault on security guard
Having been told police would be called, Woodward attempted to run away and push past the employee, leading to a struggle between the two men on the ground. The defendant bit the worker and made repeated threats to "stab him with a dirty needle" before being restrained and arrested when officers arrived.
Woodward was also sentenced for an incident on April 27, when he entered Home Bargains on Barnes Street in Anfield, filled a bag with £33 worth of washing products and left without paying.
Court hearing and sentence
His criminal record shows 54 previous convictions for 142 offences. Peter White, defending, told the court: "He does wish to apologise to the victims. In essence, Mr Woodward has had an entrenched class A drug addiction for a number of years."
Woodward admitted burglary, two counts of theft and assault. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a turquoise t-shirt, he was jailed for a total of 14 months.
Sentencing, Judge Anil Murray said: "You know that this has to be an immediate custodial sentence. You are a prolific offender. You have got previous convictions going back over 25 years." He added: "Importantly, you are free from drugs for the first time, I am told. You have family, and you want to try to stay free of drugs. I hope you do that. If you don't, you are just going to be serving a life sentence by instalments."
