(Image: Cleveland Police)
A shoplifter caught stuffing a pillowcase with food pulled a knife on a member of the public who challenged him.
Jason Rochford briefly chased the man who he called a 'f****** rat' having caught him in the act.
It happened on June 4 when he was helping himself to food from a fridge at a Spar store in Stockton.
Prosecutor Cainan Lonsdale said Rochford was filling a pillowcase with food items when a staff member’s partner arrived to give her a lift home, saw him and frogmarched him out of the premises.
Outside the shop, however, both men fell to the ground before Rochford pulled out a yellow-handled knife.
The man ran back into the store when he saw the knife and warned staff members, as Rochford briefly chased him.
Rochford called the other man “a f*** ing rat” during the exchange.
A young child on a bike outside the shop was taken inside for safety during the confrontation.
Rochford was arrested on suspicion of robbery and, when cautioned, said he was “trying to tax the shop” and admitted he may have been carrying a knife.
He was on bail at the time after an incident last December 12, when he was seen with a knife during a dispute with teenagers on a bus.
Durham Crown Court heard the driver thought there had been a confrontation at the back of the bus, so he pulled over and called police.
Mr Lonsdale said one teenager left the bus in tears and mentioned that a knife had been produced.
The driver said Rochford appeared to be under the influence of drink or drugs.
Police found him near the bus in the Hardwick area of Stockton and recovered a lock knife when they searched him.
He claimed he used the knife while fishing at a nearby lake.
Rochford admitted taking out the knife on the bus but denied using it to threaten anyone.
The 54-year-old, of Tithe Barn Road, Stockton, admitted two counts of possessing a knife in public and one of theft.
The court heard he has 34 convictions for 97 offences, including “extensive” cases of dishonesty.
His record includes aggravated burglary, robbery and possessing an offensive weapon in public.
Michele Turner, in mitigation, said Rochford had spent much of his adult life going in and out of custody.
She said his frequent convictions had left him with little chance of holding down a job.
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Judge Aisha Wadoodi told Rochford he had “clearly taken the knife” in case of a confrontation when he went shoplifting and she referred to a pre-sentence Probation report saying he used cocaine and pregabalin before both offences.
The judge said Rochford has, “an appalling offending history”.
She jailed him for 19 months and ordered the knives used in both offences to be forfeited and destroyed.