A St George’s man was jailed this morning after admitting stealing more than $100 of meat.

Dean Burgess, 55, pleaded guilty in Magistrates’ Court to a charge of stealing seven rib-eye steaks and a bag of codfish from the Supermart on Front Street.

The court heard that on May 12, staff at the store saw Burgess, who had several packages of meat and a backpack in his shopping cart, acting suspiciously near the meat department.

A member of staff notified a manager, who found Burgess near the checkout with the backpack and the meat no longer in the shopping cart.

Burgess left the store and was confronted by the manager, who asked to see the contents of his backpack.

The defendant then returned to the store and opened the bag, revealing the steaks and codfish, worth a total of $176.46.

The court heard that Burgess had been convicted of similar offences in the past and was already in custody, serving time for unpaid fines.

Addressing the court, Burgess said: “I was going through some difficult times at the time and I apologise. I won’t let it happen again.”

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo responded: “How many times have you told the court that?”

During the appearance Burgess also pleaded guilty to driving without a licence in a separate incident in May.

Magistrate Tokunbo sentenced Burgess to 30 days in custody for the theft, and ordered him to pay $150 for the traffic offence or serve an additional 15 days in default.

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