A prolific thief described as being “stuck in a rut” of offending stole Champagne and smoked salmon during raids at two hotels – just weeks after being released from prison.
Karl Brazier-Denning – who has 45 convictions for 116 offences – is now back behind bars after breaking into the guesthouses in Folkestone earlier this month and later being identified by police on CCTV.
The 30-year-old, who is from the Folkestone area, but homeless, had previously appeared in court in July, during which time his solicitor said he was “trapped in a cycle” of offending because he had no cash or somewhere to live.
At the time he admitted two counts of stealing food and alcohol from a Tesco store in Margate as well as swiping three packs of lamb steaks from Waitrose in Ramsgate.
He had admitted both offences when he appeared at Margate Magistrates’ Court on July 15, when the bench heard he was being recalled to prison after breaching a suspended sentence he was given for committing other shoplifting offences last year.
At the time, his solicitor, Gemma Adams, told the court her client had no address and usually slept at friends’ homes having become “trapped in a cycle”.
Magistrates jailed him for 12 weeks for the shoplifting offences but suspended the term for six months.
However, after being released from prison on July 25, Brazier-Denning soon started offending again and on September 13, magistrates in Folkestone heard he had broken into the View Hotel in Clifton Road, plus another un-named guesthouse.
While in the dock he admitted two counts of burglary and another shoplifting offence.
Sidumiso Moyo, prosecuting, told the court he stole a bottle of Champagne and other bottles of alcohol from bars inside the hotels and also stole several items from a Tesco Express in the town.
She added: “On September 6, he got into the View Hotel and was in the bar area where he loaded a bag with bottles of alcohol including a bottle of Champagne and the value of what he stole was £300.
“He was captured on CCTV and the front door had been secure.
“An officer went to the hotel to view the CCTV and identified him.
“On September 10, at 2.50am, he went to the front door of another hotel, but it was secure and he couldn’t get in.
“But the manager was disturbed and went into the kitchen and saw him loading alcohol into a bag for life.
“He ran to the door and said he was just getting food, but CCTV captured him going to the entrance and the manager had previously seen him in the hotel and a can of beer was seized and it had his fingerprints on it.
“He had gained entry via a window which had been left unsecure. He took seven bottles of wine and some smoked salmon.”
She also told the court when Brazier-Denning stole from Tesco in Folkestone on September 11, he selected a Starbucks coffee drink and a can of Red Bull and put them in his pocket.
He left the store without paying and the items were valued at £5.75. He was again identified via CCTV footage.
The prosecutor added: “He has quite a few previous and has 45 convictions for 116 offences and 61 of those are theft offences.
“In July this year, he was in court for two thefts and was given a six-month suspended sentence and had been serving 12 weeks custody after breaching another suspended sentence order.
“He committed these new offences during the first month of being given the six-month suspended sentence.”
Summer Carty, mitigating, told the court her client had an unenviable record, to say the least.
She added: “He’s been homeless for most of his life and he has no family, he lost his dad and his sister.
“There is no planning or malice (to his offending); he is stuck in a rut.
“He makes no threats. He just took the items and gets away as soon as possible.”
Magistrates decided to activate part of his suspended sentence as he had breached it by committing the new offences and locked him up for eight weeks.
They also jailed him for eight weeks for the new offences but said that sentence would run concurrently alongside the other.
He was not ordered to pay compensation to the hotels or Tesco Express as he was being jailed but was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187.
