A man who left his wallet in a store he robbed has admitted two counts of theft.

Brian Jones, 59, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft relating to separate incidents which occurred last month.

The court heard that at about 7pm on May 5, staff at the Hamilton MarketPlace saw Jones leave the store after stashing food items in his clothing.

The staff member followed Jones out of the store and towards Burnaby Street, but the defendant spotted him and began to run.

As he did, he dropped two packages of bacon, two packages of salmon and two packages of mackerel, worth a combined total of $59.64.

About a week later, on May 13, staff at SAL in Southampton discovered that a customer who had purchased a soda had left their wallet behind. The employee ran out of the store to find the wallet’s owner, who was sat in a parked station wagon.

She waved the wallet at the man, but he began to drive out of the parking lot. A security officer signalled at the man to stop, but he instead accelerated and continued away from the store.

The staff members looked through the wallet, finding Jones’s drivers licence and bank cards. They also looked over security camera footage, which showed Jones taking a pair of work gloves off the shelf and stashing them in his jacket before walking out.

Jones was later arrested, and admitted both offences during a police interview. Asked about the work gloves, he told officers that he needed them for a job but could not afford them.

Senior Magistrate Juan Wolffe ordered a social inquiry report on Jones, releasing him on $1,000 bail with a like surety until next month, when he is expected to be sentenced.

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