Judge slams Leeds brazen shoplifters telling one thief: 'The public are sick and tired of you'
A judge has slammed the growing number of violent shoplifters after jailing one for a sickening attack on a supermarket manager who dared to challenge him.
The Lidl worker was left with a life-threatening brain injury after a “cowardly” punch from teenager Ryan Milner, who was sent to youth detention.
It came after the manager tried to stop him from stealing, Leeds Crown Court heard.
But Judge Robin Mairs condemned the scourge of thieves who enter shops and steal without fearing repercussion, and who are willing to use violence to get away with their loot.
He said: “The general public are sick and tired of those who brazenly steal and when confronted, react with verbal and physical aggression.
“Those working in shops dealing with the public deserve and will have the protection of the courts.”
Once regarded a crime in which thieves would attempt to steal from shops without being detected, courts are witnessing a stream of cases in which shoplifters make little or no attempt to hide their crime, and are willing to turn violent if challenged.
Only last week a thief with 250 offences to his name has been banned from three high-street chains. He even barged one worker out of his way who tried to stop him.
Earlier this month a man was jailed for a host of crimes including shoplifting from Asda in Killingbeck, having pulled out a baseball bat when a security guard tried to stop him leaving the shop with a bag full of stolen meat.
Last month a Wakefield shoplifter was jailed for attacking a Spar worker who caught him shoplifting. He broke the man’s nose after leaving the shop then returning and hitting him with a tree branch.
But Judge Mairs’ comments were triggered by Ryan Milner’s sickening assault on the Lidl manager, which left him deaf in one ear, a blood clot in his neck and a fractured skull.
It unfolded on July 23 when Milner and his friend were caught stealing from the Aberford Road supermarket.
Having been ejected, they abused the manager before Milner stepped forward and “blindsided” the worker with a single punch, knocking him immediately unconscious.
Milner then “revelled” in the violence, claiming he was a boxer as his pal recorded the incident on his phone.
Milner, of no fixed address, has a string of violent convictions to his name, despite his young age.
Judge Mairs gave him three years’ detention.