A frozen meat thief is now behind bars after he threatened store staff with a hammer, and warned he would kill one of them. Violent Clint Pickering's terrifying rampage began at Farmfoods, Mansfield, where he brazenly loaded a basket with frozen legs of lamb on January 31 last year.
When challenged by a staff member, he pushed her chest with his right hand, causing her to fall to the floor, before he escaped with £125 worth of meat.
He then struck at Poundland, St. Peter's Retail Park, in Mansfield, on February 23 last year. Wearing a scarf over his face, he threatened staff with a hammer and stole washing tablets. He swung the hammer at one worker, saying "is it worth losing your life over?"
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He returned to the same Farmfoods shop on February 27 last year, heading straight to the frozen meat aisle. The same worker was there from the previous incident and she was scared he was going to assault her again and alerted a colleague.
Pickering was told to put four or five packs of meat back - but he went for the exit and there was a struggle. He dropped the meat and dragged the colleague outside, put his feet on his stomach and pinned him to the ground, Nottingham Crown Court heard on Friday (June 2).
He threatened to kill the man and pointed a hammer in his face, before picking up his meat and walking off in the direction of Mansfield Woodhouse High Street, with another man who shoved one of the joints of meat under his top.
Pickering, aged 40, whose current address is HMP Nottingham, has 39 convictions for 96 offences on his record, including offences of theft, handling stolen goods and shoplifting. One victim of the latest offences described feeling nervous all the time, another took time off work and now says he finds himself seeing the worst in people.
Representing Pickering, barrister Katrinia Wilson, asked the judge to apply credit for his guilty pleas. He had an addiction to Class A drugs and he was "sofa surfing", she said.
Judge James Sampson sentenced him to a total of six years and five months in prison, of which he will serve half before release on licence. He admitted robbery, possessing an offensive weapon, failing to provide a specimen to police for analysis - leading to a driving disqualification - two charges of theft and assault. The judge activated a suspended prison sentence of 20 months, which is concurrent to the overall term.
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