Blackpool electrician with 50 convictions jailed for supermarket booze thefts
A prolific shoplifter has been jailed by a judge in Preston after a “campaign” of booze thefts from major supermarkets in Lancashire.
Lee Houghton stole more than £1,200 worth of spirits from Booths, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Asda, Co-op and Morrisons during an illegal shopping spree.
The 49-year-old unemployed electrician pleaded guilty to 12 charges – nine of theft, two of attempted theft and one of handling stolen alcohol - when he appeared before Judge Richard Gioserano for sentence.
He was sent to prison for a total of 18 months, which included 16 months for breaching a previous suspended sentence for similar offences.
Houghton, from Blackpool but recently of no fixed address, was said to have more than 50 other convictions for theft on his criminal record dating back to the early 1990s.
Preston Crown Court was told that Houghton casually walked into stores along the Fylde Coast and helped himself to goods, mainly alcohol, before leaving without paying.
On one occasion police visited his home on two occasions they found five bottles of gin and four of Famous Grouse whisky. Amongst other items he stole were £100 of fresh meat and £75 of assorted groceries.
The biggest single booze theft was worth £248 from an Aldi supermarket. In another he walked out with bottles worth £225 from a Booths store.
The prosecution told Judge Gioserano that the total value of goods stolen during his shopping spree came to £1,280.65.
Defence barrister Anthony Parkinson said he accepted his client had been given a chance in March this year when he was given a suspended sentence by another judge for robbery.
But soon afterwards Houghton relapsed into drug use and all the offences since had been committed to feed his addiction. The thefts had been to help pay for drugs during a period of “unwelcome chaos”.
After being remanded in custody on June 19 he had spent six weeks behind bars, giving him “time to reflect on what path he wants to progress down going forward”.
He had managed to stay away from crime for a seven-year period between 2011 and 2018 because he had “knuckled down and got a job and had a partner. But he had relapsed into drugs following the death of his mother and immediately lost his job, meaning his life went downhill quickly.
He had also had two very serious health scares, one with his heart which saw him “die on the operating table” before being brought back to life.
Judge Gioserano told Houghton he had either been selling the stolen goods “or having a really, really good time himself”. And he told him that while judges were advised to carefully consider whether passing short prison sentences was a constructive punishment, he felt he had no option in this case.
“You were given the opportunity of a suspended sentence in March and you were fortunate to get that opportunity,” he said. “You drug problem is back again and seems to haunt you.”
He said Houghton had made the decision to take drugs and to go out shoplifting “on a campaign of stealing in order to sell and buy drugs.
“You were back stealing within 10 days of receiving the suspended sentence – you barely gave it a chance. You were plaguing stores by simply walking in and helping yourself.”
The judge activated the suspended sentence of 16 months and added a further two months for his shoplifting spree.