Doncaster thief brandished knife at shopkeeper in ‘cry for help’ after stealing £12 whisky

Thomas Redmile stole a £12 bottle of whisky from a shop on Station Road in Dunscroft on 9 March before pulling out the knife and calling the police on himself.

Doncaster Magistrates’ Court heard the 23-year-old, of the Crescent in Dunscroft, told the shopkeeper he “had no money and was going to prison tomorrow anyway.”

Redmile was depressed and had self-medicated with alcohol after struggling to come to terms with a break-up and not seeing his child, according to his solicitor, Mr Ross Wagstaff.

Mr Wagstaff said: "It's made the situation worse, it often does.

"It is very rarely a solution. He's sunk to a level so low that he's gone into the store, committed this offence and he's asking to be sent to prison."

Redmile threatened to harm himself with the knife, the court heard.

Mr Wagstaff said: “The circumstances of the offence itself are unusual. He enters the store, he steals something, and having stolen something he then produces a knife.

"There’s no suggestion he threatens the shopkeeper with it, it would appear he made threats to harm himself.”

Redmile pleaded guilty to theft and possessing a bladed article when he appeared in court on Thursday.

The latter offence passed the threshold for a jail sentence, said the magistrate who chaired his hearing, Mr Carl Thomas.

Mr Wagstaff said: “It’s only through his own actions that he was arrested. He told them (police) he committed this offence and wanted to go to prison.

"He’s not asking the court to send him to prison today (Thursday), but it’s quite clear the actions he took at that point were something of a cry for help.”

Redmile, who served a community order for a previous conviction in 2019, has been too embarrassed to return to the shop, Mr Wagstaff said.

Mitigating for his client, Mr Wagstaff told the court: “He's quite a vulnerable young man, one that would struggle in a custodial setting.”

Mr Thomas said Redmile might have used the deadly weapon on the shopkeeper had the theft gone wrong and sentenced him to a 12-week custodial sentence for both offences, which will be served concurrently and suspended for 12 months.

He said: “There are far too many people getting killed with knife crime. The court takes a very dim view of people carrying knives.

"You have got an awful lot to lose unless you sort yourself out.”

Redmile was also ordered to take part in a six-month alcohol treatment programme and fined a total of £251, which will be taken from his benefit payments.

The knife used in the theft will be destroyed.

Mr Thomas added: “We feel you will get more help from the outside than you will on the inside.

"You have got to take the help that’s offered to you, we can put the bridge in place but it’s up to you to cross it.

"You are the one who can benefit from this, think of your children.”