A thief has been jailed after he was caught with a knife at a Chippenham pub.
Jody Sidelnik was detained by an off-duty police officer over concerns about his behaviour outside the Hungry Horse in Rowden Hill on 11 November.
When on-duty officers arrived at the scene, the 42-year-old arrested and searched – and a knife was found; stolen goods were also located.
The defendant was also arrested in April on suspicion on handling stolen goods but he was verbally abusive to officers at the time and ran off during arrest.
He managed to evade officers for several months, with a warrant issued for his arrest.
At Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (14 December), he was sentenced for offences of possession of a knife in a public place, obstructing a police officer, theft of beef worth £120 and three jars of coffee belonging to ALDI, and handling stolen goods.
Prosecutor Tony Nowogrodzki said that Sidelnik has a previous conviction for having a knife in public, an offence which carries a six-month mandatory prison sentence.
Magistrates imposed the six-month custodial sentence for the knife offence and told him to pay compensation to ALDI of £130.47.
In a statement at the time of his arrest, Chippenham sergeant Jamie Ball said: “Sidelnik is a prolific offender who I am pleased has now been put before the courts and pleaded guilty for multiple offences.
“I’d like to thank the off duty police officer who alerted us on Saturday and detained Sidelnik until we arrived.
“I’d also like to praise the teams here in Chippenham for their hard work in ensuring this offender was swiftly arrested and remanded.
“We recently took part in Safer Business Action Week and highlighted the importance of local businesses reporting shoplifting and theft, and other offences for that matter, on their premises.
“The incident at the weekend highlights that vigilance helps us act quickly to apprehend those committing offences.”
