A man who threatened a Tesco manager with a bottle of wine to steal 12 packets of Blue Riband biscuits has been jailed for three years and two months. Duane Hilton, 47, of Regent Road in Bootle, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting robbery, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and fraud by false representation.
The court heard that on August 10 this year, Hilton and his co-defendant Lee Colton entered Tesco Express on Eastbank Street in Southport at around 3pm and began placing items of stock into a bag. When challenged by staff, Hilton took hold of a bottle of wine, raised it above his head and threatened manager Lee Sawyer with it.
Threat with wine bottle
Bethany Leigh, prosecuting, described how the employee backed away as a result, with Hilton having "continued to gesticulate with the bottle" and "shouted aggressively" towards them. Hilton then selected 12 packets of Blue Riband biscuits from the shelves and placed them into a bag which Colton was holding before both men left the shop.
Hilton also fell to be sentenced after twice attempting to use a woman's bank card to pay for goods at a BP garage in the early hours of the previous day, transactions which were ultimately declined. She was said to have lost this card after misplacing her bag in the Hawthorne pub in Bootle only hours beforehand.
Fourth robbery conviction
Having been arrested on August 14, Hilton claimed under interview at Copy Lane Police Station that he had "been spiked with diazepam" on the morning prior to the robbery. He has a total of 42 previous convictions for 92 offences, including three earlier robbery matters: the first in 2002, the second seeing him handed 27 months in 2014, and the third, which involved him making threats with a shard of broken glass, resulting in him being locked up for six years in 2018.
Gaby McGrath, defending, told the court: "It is not an attractive record. However, despite there being a number of robberies on his record, your honour will be aware of the significant time gap between the three."
Relapse and remorse
In respect of his latest conviction in 2018, he was released from prison in 2024 following periods of recall. He has had nearly two years free of any convictions prior to this offence. McGrath said: "He has expressed genuine remorse, in my submission. He is devastated and disgusted in his behaviour on this occasion. He is embarrassed."
She added: "He recognises that his record does not speak highly of him. However, in the period prior to this offending, he had attained six-and-a-half years of abstinence from alcohol, cocaine and heroin, which were all previously linked to his past offences. He was quite proud of the progress that he was making. His relapse was due to personal circumstances surrounding his young niece dealing with a terminal illness."
"He has not taken this period in custody lightly. He has made steps which are to his credit. He is on the drug free wing. He is engaging with Cocaine Anonymous. He does not want to be back in this position again. He is also engaging in education courses in custody."
Banned from Tesco
Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a grey Nike tracksuit top and with a teardrop tattoo beside his right eye, Hilton was jailed for three years and two months and handed a restraining order which will ban him from the Tesco Express store for five years.
Sentencing, Recorder Eric Lamb said: "When challenged by the store manager, you took a bottle of wine. You raised it above your head and threatened Mr Sawyer with it. You were aggressive towards Mr Sawyer and shouting something, but you did not make an awful lot of sense. Given the struggles you have had with addiction at times, that is hardly surprising."
"You went on to take a modest value of biscuits from the store. In due course, you were arrested days later and interviewed. You described how you thought you had been spiked with diazepam on the morning of the incident. You have, on three previous occasions, been convicted for robbery."
"You relapsed at a time of crisis for your young niece. You have found a place on the drug free wing. You have taken advantage of courses available to you and are coping with physical health issues, which resulted in surgery about a year ago."
Colton, also of Regent Road, pleaded guilty to theft in relation to the incident. The 38-year-old was sentenced to two months behind bars last month.
