Thief stole charity boxes during raid on North Wales petrol station

A thief has been jailed after stealing charity boxes during a raid on a petrol station. Layton Vallance, 24, of Pen y Bryn, Wrexham ^[1], was sentenced to six months in prison on Monday, after committing a series of offences over two days in Wrexham last week.

He appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Monday, November 27 where he admitted one count of burglary and three offences of theft from a shop. The total value of items stolen from three stores, including laundry products, alcohol and vapes, came to more than £420.

He also stole two charity boxes from a fuel station after breaking a window to get in. In addition to the jail sentence, Vallance was also ordered to pay more than £300 in compensation, North Wales Police ^[2] said.

Separately, Oliwia Pieczkowska, 19, of Albert Street, Wrexham, was also sentenced at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Monday, after she admitted four shoplifting offences that took place within the city centre between October 14 and November 25, with the total amount of stolen items valued at more than £1,000.

She was handed a community order and must carry out 80 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months. She was ordered to pay £185 in compensation and a £114 surcharge fee.

Following another retail theft in Wrexham on October 19, a man was charged yesterday in connection with the incident. He was remanded on conditional bail until his hearing at Wrexham Magistrates Court next month.

Wrexham City Inspector Heidi Stokes said: “Tackling retail crime is a priority in Wrexham, and we will continue to support that by robustly dealing with shoplifters. The impact of shoplifting on businesses can not be underestimated and it is not a victimless crime.

“Not only can it have a detrimental impact on staff, but the cost of theft also inevitably gets passed on to other members of the public. We will continue to identify offenders and bring them before the courts.”

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References

^{^} Wrexham (www.dailypost.co.uk)
^{^} North Wales Police (www.dailypost.co.uk)
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