Barnsley man spared jail for £3,000 of theft and carrying homemade weapons like shards of glass taped to belt

A Barnsley shoplifter who stole at least £2,500 worth of products was caught in the town centre carrying a number of 'improvised weapons'.

Jamie Lee Stewart Gotobed, of Portland Street, stole dozens of high-value items from Barnsley stores in May 2023.

These included £1,344 in clothing from Sports Direct on May 24, £915 from the same store the next day, and £280 of cosmetics from Boots on May 28. He also took cleaning products from OneBelow worth an unknown value.

However, on May 13, he was also stopped in Peel Square in Barnsley town centre were he was found to be carrying a number of homemade weapons.

These included a stick with screws in it, a metal bar, and a belt wrapped in tape with shards of glass stuck in place.

When he appeared in Sheffield Magistrates' Court on December 5 for the above, he was also charged with failing to comply with a community order requiring him to work with an alcohol abstinence support programme.

In total, he was charged with four breaches of community orders in respect of the thefts and three breaches of community orders made for the counts of carrying an offensive weapon. All the community orders were made on July 21, 2023, at Sheffield Magistrate's Court.

Magistrates wrote on court documents that the offences showed "a flagrant disregard for people and their property".

He was handed a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 24 months, and ordered to keep working with his rehabilitation workers. He was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.