Teen jailed for 15 weeks for theft

A local teenager who stole a handbag has been sentenced to 15 weeks in prison.

Michael Martin, 19, of Flat Bastion Road, was sentenced at the Magistrates’ Court last Tuesday after pleading guilty to a charge of Theft.

The court heard that on Friday, July 29 this year, Martin stole a staff member’s backpack from the rear of Pizzeria Plaza in Market Place.

Inside the bag was approximately £80 in cash, personal documents and possessions worth about £100.

Still carrying the bag, Martin then went to a bar in Casemates Square where he left the stolen ID card in the toilets.

Staff found the ID card and phoned the victim, informing him that they had found some of his belongings.

The victim went to the bar where he was able to watch CCTV footage of Martin with his backpack, and later stopped him and confronted him.

The police were called and Martin was arrested.

The teenager, who is already in prison for a burglary, will serve the new sentence consecutively.

This means he will serve 15 weeks after his previous sentence.