Jewellery thief snatched expensive ring and diamond necklace from Leeds and Wakefield shops
He entered jewellers saying he wanted to buy for his wife
A homeless thief snatched an expensive ring and a necklace with a combined value of more than £3,000 from jewellery shops before fleeing on foot.
Ahmed Amin pretended to be interested in the items before grabbing them from staff and making a beeline for the door.
He was initially charged with robbery, but this was downgraded to theft, which resulted in him being handed a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court this week.
The 37-year-old was previously jailed for stealing a watch from a jewellers.
For his latest offending, he first entered F Hinds in The Ridings in Wakefield on January 25, just moments after it opened for the day.
Staff immediately became suspicious due to his demeanour, but he asked to see an 18-carat white gold diamond ring that was on display in the window. It was on sale for £2,450.
He said it was for his wife’s birthday and asked to hold it, but he was told shop policy meant he was forbidden.
But he then grabbed the ring from the shop assistant and ran. The assistant grabbed his jacket and was dragged to the floor as he continued towards the exit.
Amin then left and ran out of sight.
Four days later, he walked into H Samuels on Briggate in Leeds and inquired about a diamond pendant necklace worth £750.
Once showed it, he held it before being asked to pass it back. He then just backed away and walked out with the necklace, prosecutor Beatrice Allsop said.
Amin was spotted and recognised by police on Doncaster Road in Wakefield on February 8, so was quickly arrested.
He has 13 previous convictions for 23 offences, including 15 for theft. He previously stole a watch and committed robbery, and was given two years’ jail.
He admitted two counts of theft of the jewellery, and common assault of the shop assistant in Wakefield.
Mitigating, Ella Embleton-Brown said Amin was now willing to engage with probation services.
The court heard he suffered from psychosis and schizophrenia.
The judge, The Recorder of Leeds Guy Kearl KC, told Amin: “You have limited insight, shown little remorse and little victim awareness.”
He said he had no home, no job and spent what little money he received on alcohol and cocaine.
However, he acknowledged Amin had been held on remand since his arrest more than six months ago.
He handed him a seven-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered he complete 15 rehabilitation days with probation.
He was also given an indefinite-length restraining order to keep him out of the two shops he targeted.