A man who stole over £100-worth of items from a shop in Kesh over three different days has been handed a suspended sentence.

Christopher John Williams (42), with an address of Windmill Heights, Enniskillen, but currently on remand in Maghaberry Prison, entered guilty pleas to three charges of theft and one charge each of possession of a Class-B and Class-C drug.

On March 25, 2022, police received reports of multiple thefts from a shop in Kesh, on March 21, 24 and 25.

CCTV footage was viewed and Williams and a female were identified.

They were seen entering the shop and lifting items, concealing them and making no attempt to pay for them before leaving.

CCTV footage also showed Williams entering the shop and passing a letter to a member of staff, which was an apology for the thefts, and this was also passed on to police.

The total amount of items stolen was £111.56.

In an unrelated incident, on May 14, 2024, at 8.30am police received multiple reports about Williams in the Windmill Heights area.

They located him asleep in the passenger seat of a car. A bag of white powder and tablets were found on him.

During an interview, Williams said he could not remember the drugs were his. Tests on the powder confirmed it was an amphetamine, while the tablets were Alprazolam.

In his submissions to the court, Williams' barrister, Steffan Rafferty, referred to his client's criminal record, asking the court to take it into account when sentencing.

This included how these incidents pre-dated convictions on his record. 

Mr. Rafferty also said Williams should be given credit for his guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity. 

District Judge Alana McSorley thanked Mr. Rafferty for his detailed submission and took into account the early pleas and totality principle for sentencing.

For the drug charges, Williams received a two-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and a one-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, for the theft charges.