A thief who walked out of Sainsbury’s with a vacuum cleaner dealt himself a blow – as it put him in breach of an 18 month suspended jail sentence.

James Duffy, 37, was given the 18 month prison term suspended for two years at Oxford Crown Court in 2021, the city’s magistrates’ court heard on Thursday.

On October 5 this year he was seen by staff to walk out of the Sainsbury’s supermarket in Witney with an £80 vacuum cleaner.

He coughed to what he had done almost immediately when he was arrested.

Appearing before Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday this week, Duffy, of Curbridge Road, Ducklington, pleaded guilty to theft.

He had failed to appear in court earlier this month to answer the shoplifting charge. He claimed through his solicitor Nawaz Khan that he got his dates confused and thought he was due before the bench in December.

Remanding him in custody, District Judge Kamlesh Rana said: “What puts you in great difficulty, Mr Duffy, is this breach of the suspended sentence and it is for that reason I’m not granting you bail.”

His case will be heard at Oxford Crown Court on December 16 for sentence. The judge asked the probation service to provide a written update for the circuit judge setting out how Duffy had complied with his suspended sentence order.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

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