Christopher Crotty, a 38-year-old prolific thief, has been banned from a large portion of Liverpool city centre after stealing over £11,000 worth of goods from multiple shops, including a McDonald's till. He was handed a suspended prison sentence and a criminal behaviour order on Tuesday at Liverpool Crown Court.
Spree of thefts across Liverpool
Crotty, formerly of Newsham Drive in Tuebrook, began his crime spree on September 20 last year at John Lewis in Liverpool ONE, where he stole eight bottles of aftershave worth £846. Staff detained him before he could leave. On February 10 this year, he entered Vision Express on Clayton Square and stole five pairs of Ray-Ban sunglasses worth around £800. When the store manager tried to block him, he called her a 'stupid f***ing t**t' and placed his hand in his pocket, making her fear he had a weapon. She moved aside, and he left.
Six days later, on February 16, Crotty returned to Vision Express and, when spotted removing security tags from another pair of sunglasses, said: 'I can do what I want. There's nothing you can do.' He filled his bag with six pairs of Ray-Bans and left. He returned shortly after, stating: 'I've sold them now. I've come back for more,' and stole more sunglasses. That day, he entered the store three times, stealing goods worth £2,180 in total.
Continued thefts and threats
On February 22, Crotty stole another £2,000 of designer sunglasses from Vision Express. On February 28, he stole a further £2,000 worth, telling staff: 'You can't do anything to me. I take what I want. Don't come near me.' He then attempted to steal seven pairs of designer sunglasses from Boots but was stopped by security. On March 4, he stole an unknown quantity of sunglasses from Vision Express again. On March 6, he entered the same shop and asked a staff member: 'who the f*** are you looking at?' before stealing more glasses. The total value of goods stolen from Vision Express alone was around £11,000.
On April 3, at around 1:30am, Crotty entered McDonald's on Lord Street, went behind the counter, pulled at the till until it came loose, slammed it to the floor several times, and left with the register. A security guard chased him, and the till was recovered unopened but 'damaged beyond repair' nearby, containing no money. Seven minutes later, CCTV showed him trying to force entry to a churros van outside St Johns Shopping Centre without success.
Arrest and threats to police
Police located Crotty on Water Street at around 10:30am. He entered a taxi to escape, but officers stopped the vehicle. He then threatened: 'It's going to take a taser to get me out of this taxi. I'm going to shoot you.' His criminal record includes 29 previous convictions for 49 offences, with 19 acquisitive crimes including burglary.
Defence and sentencing
Callum Ross, defending, told the court: 'Clearly, he presented as candid with probation. He was open in admitting to them that his addiction was out of control. He was alcohol and crack cocaine dependant at the time of all of this offending.' Ross added: 'He is, perhaps, the sad reality, in my submission, of what class A drug misuse and alcohol addiction can do to a person. He, clearly, would go to any lengths over that period of time to fund his habit.'
Ross noted that Crotty had been in custody for two months and appeared willing to engage in rehabilitation. Crotty, who was seen vaping during the hearing via video link from HMP Liverpool, pleaded guilty to charges including burglary, theft, and attempted theft. Judge David Potter handed him an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years, with a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 10 days, a 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement, and a 12-month mental health treatment requirement.
Criminal behaviour order
Judge Potter also imposed a criminal behaviour order prohibiting Crotty from entering a section of the city centre around Clayton Square for two years. The judge said: 'Aggressive shoplifting is prolific in this city and elsewhere. The public are rightly incensed to see and read daily news reports of aggressive people entering shops and, just as you did, stealing high value items with impunity.' He added that the alternative to a suspended sentence would be immediate imprisonment, but that a supervised order offered the best hope for tackling his addictions and protecting the public.
