A prolific thief who already owes £6,000 to the courts has been fined a further £100 for stealing meat from a supermarket. Homeless and jobless Dylan Curry was in the dock last month after he was caught carrying a basket full of steaks, which he had just stolen from Tesco, down a busy Newcastle street.
The 31-year-old, of no fixed abode, has 158 offences on his record and has served numerous jail sentences, including in 2025 for assaulting a garage worker while stealing booze and sweets. He was given a conditional discharge but was back up to his dishonest tricks just two weeks later.
Latest theft at Sainsbury's
This time, Curry stole £30-worth of pork from Sainsbury's in Newcastle on September 28. He was arrested soon after but then refused to provide a blood sample for analysis for drugs.
Curry had been due at Newcastle Magistrates' Court earlier this week but he failed to show and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He appeared in the dock in custody on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to shop theft and refusing to provide a sample for class A drug testing.
Christopher O'Brien, prosecuting, said: "Sainsbury's was the store, which the defendant targeted. He took £30-worth of goods. He was later apprehended by police. Whilst in custody he was asked to provide a blood sample to test for class A substances and he failed to do so."
Court hearing and sentence
The court heard that of Curry's 158 previous offences, 69 were for theft. Alanna Wesencraft, defending, said Curry had spent 12 hours in custody following his arrest for the shoplifting.
Ms Wesencraft added: "Twelve hours for the most straight-forward, nailed-on shoplifting offence on the plant. During that time, he hadn't been given his anti-psychotic medication. He had worked himself up and was not in a very good place and he simply wanted to go."
Despite owing more than £6,000 to the courts, magistrates fined Curry £100 and ordered him to pay £30 compensation, £85 costs and a £40 victim surcharge.
