A SHOPLIFTER who stole more than £500 worth of clothes from two St Helier shops and sold some of them on Facebook has been placed on probation.
David Charles Parkes was also ordered to complete an additional 20 hours of community service for breaching a 100-hour order imposed for drink-driving last year.
The 49-year-old must also pay £468 in compensation to Flannels and £145 to Sports Direct.
Advocate Katie Ripley, prosecuting, said a Flannels employee reported Parkes on 23 July after staff discovered that he had been cutting security tags from clothing and stealing items.
She said footage from earlier that month showed Parkes trying on four T-shirts before leaving the King Street store with three.
The Magistrate’s Court heard that the stolen clothing later appeared on Facebook Marketplace.
Staff at the neighbouring Sports Direct were alerted and later saw Parkes carrying clothing which he had not paid for.
The court also heard that Parkes had completed 75 hours of his existing 100-hour community-service order.
Advocate Estelle Burns, defending, said an “acute mental-health crisis” in February had left Parkes unable to attend his sessions or contact those supervising the order.
She said he had “disengaged from other support services” and “didn’t feel even able to get out of bed in the morning” – but since re-engaged with mental-health and alcohol-support services, the advocate said.
Advocate Burns added that Parkes now had a support worker, had found work as a gardener and was “committed to maintaining his recovery”.
Relief Magistrate David Le Cornu, presiding, ordered Parkes to complete an additional 20 hours as a penalty for breaching his existing community-service order.
Parkes was also placed on probation for nine months.
