A Hamilton supermarket manager wrestled with a shoplifter, telling him ‘It’s too early in the morning for this’.
William Copeland had gone into Tesco in Hillhouse Road at 6.30am and taken meat worth £50 without paying.
The store manager let him go when he saw what he thought was a knife.
Copeland, 36, was jailed for 18 months at Hamilton Sheriff Court after he admitted shoplifting and threatening or abusive behaviour on January 19 while on bail for another matter.
An allegation that he threatened the manager with a knife was dropped.
The court heard that, when confronted, Copeland refused to hand over his bag with the stolen food items, instead shouting ‘Just f*****g give me it. I’m f*****g taking it’.
Aga Mathieson, prosecuting, said: “The two men started to wrestle over the bag. The accused then reached into his pocket and the store manager saw something metallic in his hand.
“At this point he let go of the bag and the accused left the store with the goods which were not recovered.”
Copeland claimed what the manager saw was actually a set of keys and his lawyer, Jackson Bateman, said the Crown wasn’t in a position to dispute that.
The brief added: “He regrets his conduct but at the time he had heroin and valium addictions and was not coping well. His record is poor.”
Sheriff John Speir backdated the jail sentence as Copeland has been in custody since January 22.
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