A shoplifter who was caught with a knuckleduster and drugs has been jailed for six months.
Laurence Cuthbert, 36, was caught on Bullar Street, Southampton with a knuckleduster, cocaine and heroin on September 9, 2023.
It followed a spree of shoplifting offences from Tesco Express and Sainsbury's stores in Eastleigh and Hedge End.
He stole £777.50 worth of alcohol during eight incidents in June and August 2023.
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Cuthbert, of no fixed address, was then caught again in January of this year when he stole ten packs of chicken worth £44.55 from Tesco.
He pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft from a shop at Southampton Magistrates Court this month.
Guilty pleas were also entered to possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and two counts of possessing a controlled drug of Class A.
Magistrates decided that "only a custodial sentence can be justified" due to the "nature and seriousness" of the offences.
He was jailed for six months and ordered to pay £150 in compensation.
The court ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and the knuckleduster.
No order was made for court costs.
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