Sutton-in-Ashfield man swipes meat from store but then everything goes wrong

John Shaw's preparation was not great

An off-duty detective chased down and caught a prolific shoplifter after he stole packets of meat from a Nottinghamshire shop. Det Con Jonathon Reid was posting some parcels at the Co-Op store in Chapel Street, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, when he saw two men fleeing the store with stolen packets of meat.

After giving chase on the evening of July 11 this year, he caught up with 44-year-old John Shaw and detained him. With the help of a plain-clothed store detective, Shaw was led back to the scene of the crime and arrested.

Shaw has multiple convictions for shop theft and was serving a suspended prison sentence at the time of the incident. He pleaded guilty to three counts of shop theft at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, October 9.

The other two counts related to the theft of clothing and tools from two other local stores on June 18 and July 20. Shaw, of Frederick Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, was jailed for 22 weeks.

PC Rebekah Davison, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a great bit of work from an off-duty detective who didn’t think twice about pursuing two criminal suspects. With no protective equipment, he chased two men from the shop and was able to detain one of them. It is yet another reminder of the kind of bravery and dedication to public service our officers show every day in and out of uniform.”