Shoplifting brothers sentenced after determined investigation
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The brothers were arrested in Arnold on Thursday
Two persistent shoplifters have been sentenced after a determined investigation by neighbourhood officers.
The Gedling neighbourhood policing team tracked down and arrested brothers Reece and Ethan Onyett on Thursday (6 March) after the pair had failed to attend court.
They were wanted for multiple thefts from shops in Arnold.
The quick-thinking officers were then able to link the pair to another shop theft which had taken place earlier that morning in Bulwell.
A security guard had been threatened when they raided the B&M Bargains store in Main Street and left with a powerbank.
Ethan Onyett, aged 24, of Arnot Hill Road, Arnold, pleaded guilty to four shop thefts and was jailed for 12 weeks, suspended for 12 months at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Friday (7 March).
Thirty-eight-year-old Reece Onyett, also of Arnot Hill Road, admitted a total of six shop thefts and threatening behaviour. He was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months.
Inspector Heather Harding, neighbourhood policing inspector for Gedling, said:
“My team should be commended for tracking down these two men after they failed to appear in court.
“Officers then worked really hard to link them to a further offence of shop theft and an unpleasant verbal tirade directed at a member of security staff.
“We will not tolerate this sort of aggressive behaviour towards shop staff. No one deserves to be threatened with violence when they turn up for a shift at work.
“These two men are persistent offenders and I hope stores in the area are given some respite from their offending thanks to the team’s efforts and the deterrence of the sentences handed down.
”We know a relatively small number of persistent thieves, like these brothers, are responsible for the vast majority of these offences in our communities.
“Officers continue to work hard with shop staff to improve security at stores as well as placing prolific offenders before the courts and pursuing criminal behaviour orders.”