An elderly food bank volunteer lost her mum's wedding ring in a callous handbag snatch by a prolific sneak thief as she shopped in Aldi. The 73-year-old was browsing the aisles when 37-year old Martin Stokes crept up to her trolley before grabbing the bag and walking off.
Her handbag contained a yellow wedding band belonging to her mum plus a Samsung J12 phone, a red purse, her car key, bus pass and driving licence. Police arrested Stokes after CCTV of him walking away from the store at the Crownpoint retail park in Denton was posted on Facebook, a court heard.
It emerged Stokes had carried out a string of other thefts - the court heard another elderly woman had her purse stolen containing £100 stolen after Stokes asked her for help to find chicken in a Tesco supermarket.
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Another theft involved a 'switcheroo' distraction con, a judge was told, in which Stokes stole an £2,750 Omega watch from a jeweller whilst replacing it with a cheap replica he had in his pocket.
When quizzed he initially claimed he had no memory of the thefts due to previously being in a medically-induced coma following a heart attack and claimed he would 'never shop in an Aldi'. But he later admitted pawning the pensioner's wedding ring, confessing to police: "I feel tight for those two ladies."
In a statement the elderly victim said: ''I was in shock when this occurred as I initially thought I had just lost my handbag. But when the store explained it was stolen, I was aghast. I was on my own at the time and am concerned that he now knows of my address.
''I managed to get the locks of my home changed as I have been a victim of a burglary before. Losing my mother's wedding band was particularly upsetting. This whole incident has cost us around £700."
At Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester Stokes, of Walmersley Road, Bury, was jailed for 30 months after he admitted four charges of theft, one of fraud and possession of cannabis.
Judge Recorder Abigail Simmonds told him: "These were deliberate and mean offences, and not ones I can suspend. You deserve a prison sentence."
Sophie Kenny, prosecuting, said: "On the afternoon of the 22nd of October last year, the defendant entered the Christopher Brown jewellery store in Stockport. He approached the counter to speak to Ms Kelly who was attending to the shop. He asked her if he could see and try on an Omega Seamaster watch.
''Ms Kelly handed over the watch for him to try and when for a moment she turned her back to the cabinet the defendant put the watch in his right pocket and reached into left pocket to reach for an exact replica. He handed the replica back to Ms Kelly, made his excuses and then left the shop. The watch was valued at £2,750.
"Seven days later at around 3pm, a woman was shopping at the Tesco Extra in Bolton. Prior to her trip she had withdrawn £50 from the ATM outside and entered the store with £100 held within her purse.
"When she approached the cold meat aisle the defendant approached her and asked her where the chicken was. She stopped and helped the defendant, quickly turning around to point in the opposite direction. Unbeknownst to her the defendant had taken her purse and walked off. In her purse was the £100 cash, bank cards and driving licence.
"She did manage to cancel her bankcards but not before the defendant had used them to purchase a number of items worth £171 at a JD Sports branch in Walkden later that day.
"At 7pm on the same evening, the defendant went to the Trafford Centre with his young nephew. As they walked into the Selfridges store, the defendant took a designer Gucci belt bag worth £750 from the store display and left.
"Then on November 12, the defendant entered an Aldi in the Crownpoint Retail Park in Denton where the 73-year-old was doing her weekly shopping. She realised her black and brown handbag was stolen from her and it contained a wedding ring, phone, purse, car key, bus pass and driving licence."
Stokes, the court heard, was detained at the Trafford Centre on November 15 after an off-duty PC spotted him and recognised him from CCTV footage.
Ms Kenny added: ''At the station the defendant asked the officers 'is this for the petty thefts?' He was then asked what he meant by petty offences and gave a very detailed response on what values indicate a petty theft. He then claimed that he didn't remember any of the offences put to him due to being in a medically induced coma a few years ago.
''He also denied swapping the fake watch with the new one, saying 'I'd never have a fake watch'. He also said he would never go to Aldi and said he was only using Selfridges as a cut through with his nephew.
"When he was shown the footage he said 'how do you know that's me?' He did, however, end the interview by saying 'I fell tight for those two ladies'.
When police attended Stokes' home they discovered several of the stolen items and also goods he bought with the stolen bank cards. They also found a quantity of cannabis that he admitted to having for his own personal use.
Stokes has 37 convictions for 71 offences, the court heard, including one previous for theft and a serious assault conviction in 2012, for which he received two and a half years in custody.
His barrister Michael James said: "He is very disappointed with himself. This is not how he wants to live; he wants a better life. He now accepts he made all the wrong decisions that day. He has had a history of issues and problems throughout his life and has often been unable to provide for himself.
"He understands what he did, and he does feel mean about these two ladies. He has also given me the address and details of the person he pawned the wedding band to."
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