A racist thief hurled vile abuse at a shop worker before going on to burgle a restaurant in Durham a couple of months later.
Terry Atkin was caught on CCTV filling up a bag full of goods in a Co-op store and was challenged by an employee as he attempted to leave. Atkin then hurled vile racist abuse at the worker before becoming aggressive and overturning a trolley in an attempt to intimidate him.
Weeks later, Atkin, 33, carried out a burglary at Gussto Tapas Bar in Durham alongside Mark Turnbull, 41, and stole cash, 15 bottles of wine and laptops. Fortunately, the duo were identified by police from CCTV in the restaurant and soon arrested.
On Friday, Atkin, of Albert Street, Chester-le-Street, and Turnbull, of The Crescent, Langley Park, appeared at Durham Crown Court to be jointly sentenced for burglary. Atkin was also sentenced for offences of theft, racially aggravated assault, and criminal damage of a police door. The pair pleaded guilty to the charges at a previous hearing.
Annelise Haugstad, prosecuting, said on April 18 this year, Atkin went to a Co-op store and was captured on CCTV filling up a bag for life with £45 worth of goods. She said: "He was challenged by an employee who tried to retrieve the items. He was then met with a barrage of abuse - the defendant said; 'What the f*** are you doing you stupid black c***'."
Footage shown in court showed the employee attempting to restrain Atkin, who was visibly aggressive and violent. Another unidentified man, who also became aggressive, could then be seen turning up and helping free Atkin, before a trolley was overturned "to intimidate shop staff". In a victim impact statement, the employee said he had been left "worried" and "frightened", but added "I don't want racism to win".
Ms Haugstad said that in May, Atkin, who had 35 previous convictions for 67 offences, was given a 12 month criminal behaviour order for shoplifting and breached it by stealing over £220 worth of goods from a Co-op in Consett. Then, on June 14, he burgled Gussto in Durham city centre alongside Mark Turnbull and another unidentified person.
Ms Haugstad said the owner of the restaurant had locked up the premises on June 13, but returned the next day to find it had been broken into via the kitchen area. Cash from the till, 15 bottles of wine, two laptops and a card payment machine were stolen. The court was told the burglary set the business back £4,700.
Caroline McGurk, defending Atkin, a dad-of-two, said his offences were "fuelled entirely by his addiction to cocaine and alcohol". She said due to a "lack of means" and issues with his mental health, he fell "back into old habits". She said: "He is well aware he needs to sort his life out. He pleaded guilty to all matters at the very earliest opportunity and has very genuine remorse, particularly for the racially aggravated matter. He says 'that is not who I am.'"
Tony Davis, defending Turnbull, said he had been leading a "chaotic lifestyle" but pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. Mr Davis also asked the court to take into account that Turnbull had been in custody since June.
Sentencing the pair, Recorder Ian Mullarkey jailed Turnbull for eight months, and jailed Atkin for 18 months.
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