Man jailed for theft and robbery offences in Cardiff

 

At around 7.30am on Monday, October 14, Michael Richards went into the Tesco Express store on Tredegar Street in Cardiff City Centre.

Richards, 28, headed straight to the alcohol section and took two bottles of Budweiser. Security at the store spotted him taking the bottles, as it was before shops could sell alcohol at 8am due to licensing rules.

The security guard managed to get one bottle back from him, but Richards dropped the other which then smashed on the floor.  He picked the smashed bottle and threatened both the security guard and staff.

Richards then re-entered the store and stole more alcohol before making off. He was arrested after officers sourced a CCTV still of the suspect from the store and used retrospective facial recognition technology to identify Michael Richards.

At Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday, December 11, Richards pleaded guilty to robbery and theft from a shop and was sentenced to 22 months in prison.

Detective Constable Eleri Phillips said:

“We know both robberies and retail crime can have a significant impact on victims, which is why we are committed to doing all we can to reduce thefts and pursue those responsible, especially those prolific and habitual offenders who cause both fear and  misery within the community.

“Where appropriate we will use retrospective facial recognition to identify and bring those caught on CCTV to justice.”