Coat thief who pulled knife on shop worker jailed

A thief who pulled a knife on a shop worker after stealing coats from a city store has been jailed.

Lewis Wilson pulled the knife from his waistband after he stole three jackets and matching bottoms worth £378 from the JD Sports shop in Kingsway, Derby, on Saturday, Derbyshire Police said.

The 30-year-old was arrested by armed police later the same day.

Wilson, of no fixed abode, was jailed for 50 weeks and ordered to pay £378 in compensation at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Police said a female shop worker tried to follow Wilson after he was seen taking the goods.

As she approached him, he took a knife out of his waistband before running off, the force said.

He was traced to an address in Parker Street, Derby, where a kitchen knife was found, along with suspected Class A drugs.

Following his arrest, Wilson pleaded guilty to theft from a shop, possession of a knife, and possession of a Class A drug.

Det Sgt Dan Goodman said: "To pull a knife out in a busy shopping area – after brazenly stealing from a nearby shop – is beyond contempt and I am very pleased that the public are safe from him following his imprisonment."

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