A SHOPLIFTER punched an Aldi store manager and spat in his face twice after being challenged, a court was told.
Ashley Hymas, of Dawlish Crescent, Weymouth, entered the now-closed supermarket at Jubilee Retail Park with another man on Thursday, March 12.
Carrying multiple bags, the 31-year-old identified items to steal and put in the bags, the court heard.
The two men, described as 'acting suspiciously', were observed on the store’s CCTV and then challenged at the checkouts by a staff member and later the store manager, Stuart Dalley.
Prosecuting, Harrison Willis, told Weymouth Magistrates’ Court: “The males were stopped while queuing at the checkout. The store manager challenged the defendant for not paying for items in his bags.
“He said he intended to search the bags, which the defendant refused and wanted to be searched in private."
He said Hymas got 'defensive and aggressive' before pushing Mr Dalley, who called for assistance.
Mr Willis added: “He then crouched down, punched him and spat in his face. The police arrived to arrest him. While police attempted to restrain him, he spat in Mr Dalley’s face again.”
Hymas did not appear in court, but magistrates were happy for the trial to proceed in his absence.
Mr Willis added that Hymas admitted stealing items worth £98.82 at Aldi, but had denied that he assaulted or spat two times at the store manager, noting he only 'breathed' on him. He pleaded guilty to the charge of theft at a previous court appearance.
Store manager monitored shoplifter on CCTV before approaching him
Mr Dalley explained in court that he was told by a staff member that two gentlemen were seen 'transferring items into bags' and he tracked their movements on CCTV.
He told the court: “I informed one of my cashiers that one of the bags would be searched.
“My involvement was just to watch and inform staff.
“They made no attempt to pay for various items on the conveyor belt and made no attempt to unload the rest of the goods.
“When initially asked to look into the bags, they said no and became aggressive. They were very reluctant for us to search their bags. They were keen to be seen around the back and Hymas would let me look providing it was not in a public place.
“I told him in no circumstances we would not do that for our protection.”
'Aggressive' Hymas intimidated store manager with threats before spitting at him
Hymas initially put his bags on the register but failed to unload them. This is when he attempted to flee the supermarket and assaulted Mr Dalley.
Mr Dalley said: “I believe I put my arm out to say police need to deal with this and I prevented him leaving.
“He became very aggressive and went up to my face and made threats, saying ‘he would do me’ and that ‘I needed to be careful’.
“I was obviously nervous and frightened. I pushed him to get out of the way. He was way too close and I also shouted for my assistant manager to come over for strength in numbers.
“I put some distance between us, he swung his arms which hit my stomach but he did not catch me with any true force.
“At which point, he spat directly into my face between the eyes. I was enraged, to be honest.
“I then decided to detain the gentlemen to ensure he did not assault any customers.
“I took him to the ground with a tackle and almost immediately, the police arrived.”
CCTV footage shown in court showed Hymas and Mr Dalley squaring off before Mr Dalley tackled him to the ground and police officers running into the store.
PS Ben Dawes and PC Lorna Hides both detained Hymas after he was tackled by Mr Dalley. Hymas spat at Mr Dalley again while he was being detained by officers.
'It was a deliberate assault'
Magistrate Karen Spooner said that while the CCTV footage did not show the two times Hymas spat at Mr Dalley, it was clear he carried out a 'deliberate assault' on the store manager.
She said: “It was clear the defendant hit out at the victim, but said it was only a glancing blow.
“We believe this was a deliberate assault and therefore Mr Hymas is guilty of this assault.”
As Hymas did not attend court, a warrant was issued for his arrest and to appear at Poole Magistrates for sentencing at a later date.
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