Bereaved man is jailed after he resorted to drugs and crime

John Parker, 44, illegally used someone else’s bus pass to travel from Eastwood to Alfreton before stealing two legs of lamb from a Farmfoods store, in Alfreton.

Prosecuting solicitor Rod Chapman told a Chesterfield magistrates’ court hearing: “Mr Parker came to the notice of police when he was detained by the manager of a Farmfoods store at Alfreton for the theft of two legs of lamb.”

Mr Chapman also told the hearing on January 16 that the store manager spotted Parker behaving suspicously and after leaving Farmfoods with a bulge in his jacket he was followed and eventually surrendered the meat.

After police also discovered Parker had a bus pass in someone else’s name, he admitted having taken it from a friend’s home and using it to get from Eastwood to Alfreton.

Parker, of Bailey Grove Road, Eastwood, pleaded guilty to committing fraud on January 15 by using the bus pass and he also admitted committing the theft from Farmfoods on the same day.

The court also heard that Parker has eight previous convictions for 25 invidual offences,

Defence solictor Karl Meakin said: “He was unconvicted prior to November, 2016, and he was 43 and had never been in trouble prior to that.

“The circumstances in which he has found himself heavily convicted in the previous year are rather sad.

“As of 2015, Mr Parker enjoyed a comfortable standard of living as an IT consultant and he owned his own property and lived with his civil partner.

“She passed away and he didn’t deal with it well and he used hard drugs to numb himself to the effect of this bereavement and it spiralled into addiction with heroin and crack cocaine.”

Mr Meakin added: “He’s lost everything. He’s lost his property for which he had a mortgage. He’s lost friends and he has no income.”

Magistrates sentenced Parker to five weeks of custody and ordered him to pay a £115 victim surcharge and £85 costs.