Violent thief caged after crime spree

A prolific thief has been jailed after pleading guilty to a string of offences.

Lee Thompson, aged 42, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and disqualified from driving for two years and three months at Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to theft of a motor vehicle, burglary, three counts of shoplifting, handling stolen goods and driving without a licence or insurance.

He also pleaded guilty to breaching a restraining order and making threats against another person.

The offences occurred between July, 2018 and November, 2018.

On the morning of Thursday, December 6, 2018, officers observed a black Nissan Qashqai driving along Union Street in Hyde and identified the driver as Lee Thompson.

The officers were aware that Thompson was wanted at the time by police for numerous offences and they pursued the vehicle.

Thompson parked the car and went into a house, before officers entered and swiftly arrested him.

Following police checks on the Qashqai, it was shown to have been stolen the previous day in a burglary at a house in Denton.

When Thompson was searched he had the keys to the stolen car in his pocket, and he did not have a driving licence or insurance to drive the vehicle.

Thompson had a restraining order not to be in the company of the person he was arrested with, and he was further arrested for breach of a restraining order.

At the time of his arrest Thompson was already wanted by police for numerous offences for which he pleaded guilty to at court, including breach of a court order and threatening to stab a supermarket security guard with a needle.

He pleaded guilty to stealing four candles from B&M in Hyde and stealing bottles of gin from Aldi in Hyde.

He also pleaded guilty to a burglary which occurred on Tuesday, September 25, 2018 on Stockport Road in Bredbury in which Thompson entered a business premises and took car keys from a handbag before stealing the car.

Police Constable Chris Ritchie, of GMP’s Tameside Operational Support Unit said: “It is thanks to the swift action of our officers that Thompson was arrested and brought to account for his actions.

“He showed a disturbing level of violence, having threatened a supermarket security guard with a hypodermic needle.”

“Burglary and theft are crimes which blight our society, and our officers are committed to tracking down those who commit them.”

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