Leeds brothers snatched £20,000 from tills at Morrisons stores during six-month theft plot

Leeds Crown Court heard James and or Karl McShane struck at nine Morrisons stores and usually targeted unattended cash handling units in store cafes.

They stole a total of £20,700 during the theft conspiracy from June to December last year and cased £5,000 worth of damage.

Morrisons supermarkets targeted by the brothers included stores at Hunslet, Kirkstall, Morley, Rothwell, Pontefract and Heckmondwike.

Karl McShane, aged 34, of Whitfield Square, Hunslet, and James McShane, 28, of Swallow Avenue, Wortley admitted conspiracy to commit theft.

Karl was jailed for three-years-and-eight-months and James was jailed for three-years-and-four-months

Prosecutor, David Wain said a man was spotted on CCTV entering Morrisons at Hunslet just after 9.30pm on June 27 before leaving a minute later after using a crow bar to break into a cash handling unit to steal £2,700.

The court heard two men were caught on CCTV acting suspiciously at Morrison’s in Rothwell on December 12 before leaving empty-handed.

The brothers broke into tills at Morrison’s in Morley on December 20 using a screwdriver and crowbar and stole £2,450.

Mr Wain said a police officer reviewing CCTV of the men acting suspiciously at Morrisons in Rothwell on December 12 recognised Karl McShane and the brothers were arrested on December 21.

The court hear James McShane was jailed for eight years for grievous bodily harm in June 2013 and released from prison in December 2016.

Karl McShane was jailed for 12 years in 2010 for robbery and possessing an imitation firearm .

Mitigating, Anthony Sugare said: “Both defendants would like me to apologise on their behalf.”

Sentencing the brothers, Recorder Tom Little, told them: “This was well-planned offending. There were two of you and it involved the use of tools.

“This was a very serious example of conspiracy to steal.”