Thief caught after leaving DNA on spoon he used to eat stolen cheesecake
A thief was caught after he left DNA on a spoon that he had used to eat a stolen cheesecake.
Jason Stratford, 36, entered a bar in Cirencester at around 1am on January 2 and tried to steal several bottles of alcohol.
During the raid, he spotted a cheesecake in the kitchen area and helped himself, Gloucestershire Police said in a statement on Friday.
The spoon he was using to eat the cheesecake then dropped on the floor.
The bottles he stole and the cheesecake, which he ate in front of the venue’s CCTV, cost £1,846.
Police say he was identified by the CCTV footage and members of staff who later confronted him and recovered a set of keys he had stolen.
Cotswold local policing officers then used the DNA from the spoon to forensically link Stratford to the scene and to later charge him with the offence.
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Stratford was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison and to pay compensation of £1,825 at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on Monday.
The offending also activated a 16-week suspended sentence, which he had been given for a previous burglary in August last year.
This means he has now been jailed for a total of 34 weeks.
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Speaking on behalf of Investigating Officer PC Mike Lee, DC Nick Henry said: "Burglary is a callous crime, targeting a business that has already likely been damaged due to the pandemic.
"We wish to thank the staff members for their vigilance in assisting the investigation and bringing this offender to justice, ultimately taking him off of the streets of Cirencester.
"Gloucestershire Constabulary hopes that the sentence sends a message that criminal activity, regardless of the pandemic, will not be tolerated and criminals will be brought to justice."
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