Derry Court: Man (40) jailed for series of thefts from local stores

A man has been jailed at Derry Magistrate's Court today for a series of thefts from local stores.

Darren Canning (40) of Rinmore Drive in Derry admitted a series of theft charges and one charge of assault on a security staff member.

The court heard that on April 29 2021 staff at B&M Bargains reported a theft and said that an intoxicated male and a female had entered the store and tried to leave without paying for goods. 

As they tried to leave they were confronted by the store security and Canning told him he would 'take your head off'. 

Canning was identified by police as the intoxicated male. 

The court then heard that on December 1 2022 police received a report of a theft from Sainsburys in the Strand Road. 

They were told that two males had entered the store and one had left with razors without paying. 

Canning was the second male and he left with 6 bottles of Smirnoff vodka valued at £120.

Again he was identified from CCTV and accepted it was him on the footage. 

Then the court was told about an incident on December 16 2022 when Canning was identified as having entered Tescos in Quayside and stolen a bottle of whiskey. 

When interviewed Canning said he had no recollection of the incident. 

Finally the court heard that on July 15 this year Canning was stopped by police and found to have a bag containing a Hugo Boss jumper valued at £139 and a Calvin Klein jacker valued at £160.

He told police he had bought them from a blonde haired woman in William Street and suspected they were stolen given the price. 

The goods had been stolen from Frasers in Foyleside Shopping Centre. 

Defence counsel Eoghan Devlin said that his client had nearly made it to the end of an adjournment period when he probably would have been given a break by the court. 

Describing the defendant as 'his own worst enemy' Mr Devlin said he knows a custodial sentence is inevitable. 

Canning was jailed for 8 months and ordered to pay almost £500 in compensation.