Romanian arrived in Britain on Friday, was caught stealing from TX Maxx on Saturday and was jailed on Monday
- Leonard-Valter Tudor, 20, arrived in Britain on Friday and was arrested Saturday
- He placed £508 of goods in a foil-lined bag while in TX Maxx in Nottingham
- Tudor claimed a Romanian man offered him a job shoplifting goods from stores
- He was jailed for 16 weeks in a young offenders institute after his guilty plea
Leonard-Valter Tudor, 20, pictured, was jailed for shoplifting less than three days after arriving in Britain from Romania. Tudor claimed a Romanian man, who he does not know, offered him a job stealing from shops in Nottingham using a foil-lined bag
A Romanian migrant has been jailed for 16 weeks after he was caught shoplifting less than 24 hours after arriving in Britain.
Leonard-Valter Tudor, 20, was arrested after he tried to steal £508 of goods from TX Maxx in Nottingham.
The father-of-one tried to use a foil-lined bag to interfere with the signals of security tags on the items.
Nottingham Magistrates’ Court heard Tudor was arrested on Saturday. An accomplice managed to avoid arrest.
According to Nottingham Live, Tudor was brought before magistrates on Monday morning.
Sanjay Jerath, prosecuting, told the court: ‘In interview, the defendant said he landed in the country the day before. He went to an address in Doncaster intending to find some work.
‘He was approached by another Romanian man he doesn’t know. There was the suggestion of employment in Nottingham of taking items from a shop and accepts he was opening bags and taking items.
‘He had a foil lined bag and takes full responsibility for his action.’
Tudor, 20, was helped by a Romanian interpreter in court. He admitted theft of accessories worth £508 and having a foil-lined bag.
District Judge Leo Pyle sent him to a young offenders’ institution for 16 weeks and ordered him to pay a £115 government surcharge.
He told Tudor: ‘The sentence should be a deterrent in your particular case.’
Neil O’Sullivan, mitigating, said Tudor became a father for the first time a fortnight ago.
He had the prospect of work in South Yorkshire and came to stay with a friend in the Doncaster area.
Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, pictured, heard Tudor intends to live with a friend in Doncaster after his release from prison where he has the ‘genuine’ prospect of work
‘Simply the promise of money led him to commit these offences. As one can imagine, he had no income whatsoever as he only landed on Friday.
‘He was detained straight away by security staff. All the items were recovered.
‘This was an enterprise he entered into with some reluctance, it is fair to say. In some ways, it was borne out of necessity.’
He said Tudor admitted the offences immediately and planned to return to South Yorkshire if released.
Mr O’Sullivan added: ‘He tells me the prospect of work is a genuine one and is aimed simply to provide for his family in future.’