Shoplifter faked heart attack in Sainsbury's, Farnham Common (From Bucks Free Press)
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Shoplifter faked heart attack in Sainsbury's, Farnham Common
8:30am Saturday 20th March 2010 in
A DRUNK man discharged a fire extinguisher at a security guard and pretended to have a heart attack after being detained for shoplifting, a court heard.
Phillip O’Grady faces prison for trying to steal meat from Sainsbury’s in The Broadway, Farnham Common – and then assaulting and racially abusing the security guard.
Wycombe Magistrates’ Court heard the guard saw O’Grady – who pleaded guilty to all charges – place the meat in his jacket on Wednesday at about 6pm.
O’Grady, of Long Readings Lane, Slough twice went to leave but turned around, the court heard.
He was then stopped as he then approached the door and tried to push past the guard, said Rebecca Thomas, prosecuting.
The guard ‘grabbed him just below the collar of his jacket and asked him to follow into the back of the store’ she said.
She said he verbally abused and tried to push past the guard. She said: “He then picked up the fire extinguisher and released the CO2 from within the extinguisher.
“The CO2 hit the security guard who, at that time, covered his face because he was in fear of what would happen when the defendant picked up the fire extinguisher.
“The defendant then faked a heart attack and fell to the floor and asked for an ambulance to be called.”
She said: “However, it seems the security guard didn’t fall for the fact that he was suffering from a heart attack and so the defendant got up from the floor.”
Mrs Thomas said he then picked up a piece of meat and threw it at the guard, striking him in the left shoulder area.
Police arrived and led O’Grady away, where he made a racially aggravated comment about the security guard, who is Asian, to a member of staff.
O’Grady pleaded guilty to theft from a shop, common assault, a racially aggravated public order offence causing harassment, alarm or distress and failing to attend supervision meeting for a previous offence.
Kam Varaitch, defending, said O’Grady told police he ‘didn’t know what he was doing’ as he was drunk and he was acting in ‘self defence’ as the guard ‘strangled’ him.
O’Grady told police he picked up the fire extinguisher to ‘protect himself’ and did not intentionally let off the device as there was no safety pin, the court heard.
He denied making the racially aggravated comment and ‘simply said he wanted the security guard arrested for assault’. The defendant failed a drugs test for cocaine.
O’Grady told police: “I was worried about being hurt because I was alone with him and he was trying to hit me.”
A CCTV recording of the incident shows O’Grady ‘being pushed up against the wall by the security guard with his elbow across Mr O’Grady’s neck’ Mr Varaitch said.
The fire extinguisher was discharged for a ‘split second’ and the CO2 landed on the guard’s stomach and chest area, he told the court.
He said O’Grady accepted in his interview that he stole the meat and assaulted the guard by throwing the meat and discharging the fire extinguisher.
It was ‘unusual’ that he had been drinking, he said. He said he got the date wrong for his supervision appointment and this was a ‘misunderstanding’.
He was warned by magistrates: “We consider your offences are so serious that you may go to prison.”
O’Grady was bailed to be sentenced on April 9.
Comments(9)
Seasence1
says...
10:29am Sat 20 Mar 10
A security guard can arrest you if they see you committing an offence. This is the same as a ‘citizen’s arrest’. A security guard can also hold you until the police arrive.
They can be detained using resonable force (i.e what you could use if you was being attacked in the street )
Hope that clears things up for you punchy.
And just befor you moan about securty guards, if this bloke had left the store with nothing because he could not steel he would have prob robbed sum1 in the street or gone else where to steel. 95% of shoplifters steel to support a drug / drink habit.
also one other thing, when u look at your shopping bill each week and it goes up and up some of the price rise is for more security systems and people in stores to protect the staff and stock from the type of person in the story above. :)
Franky
says...
11:05am Sat 20 Mar 10
homer13
says...
2:49pm Sat 20 Mar 10
Punchy wrote:Section 3 of the Criminal Law Act states that a person may use such force that is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large.
Just out of interest, I'd love to know what rights security guards have (both within the store they are employed and outside of it) to physically restrain a member of the public. Does anyone know? Obviously, the guy should not have been shoplifting. But it was the fact that he was restrained that led to the additional offences of assault and public order.
However in this case I am sure that the BFP have reported on this O'Grady before and this isnt his first time. Get a job lowlife and stop stealing!
Punchy
says...
12:05pm Sun 21 Mar 10
J B Blackett
says...
12:31pm Sun 21 Mar 10
.
Being in a drunken state , he probably thought the fire extinguisher was a very large (family size) vacuum flask and got a shock when he felt the full weight of it. Dangerous thing - underestimating.
.
He then approached the uniformed security guard thinking it was the check-out and got into a tussle as the chap tried to take it off him - but not to scan it. That's when it started to go wrong.
.
Either that or the guard asked him for an extortionate price for the perceived 'thermos' and the customer , overcome with shock , fell to the ground in a temporary comatose state.
.
It could happen to anyone , don't you think ?
.
I blame the labelling.
J B Blackett
says...
12:33pm Sun 21 Mar 10
Punchy wrote:Mumps or Glandular Fever ?
I'd love to know though why our flourescent security guards chew gum, talk all day to impressionable teenage girls and young women and hold their arms at a 45 degree angle away from their body, any ideas?
Seasence1
says...
11:40pm Sun 21 Mar 10
Punchy wrote:would that be the same guards i see helping old ladies carry there shoppin to the taxi, or stoppin the bag snachers that u get in large supermarkets or the ones that stop the drunks and beggers hanging around?
I'd love to know though why our flourescent security guards chew gum, talk all day to impressionable teenage girls and young women and hold their arms at a 45 degree angle away from their body, any ideas?
am sure some do do what punchy says, but as in any walk of life there is always to sides....
Punchy
says...
7:47am Mon 22 Mar 10
I can't wait for Shell and BP to role out forecourt security because of a handful of bilking offences and stiff us all for an extra 20p a litre!
If we sack a few security guards, then it will be them running off with a topside joint under each arm and a few packs of smoked salmon stuffed down their kecks. We are all looking for our next meal, and society must find a better way of dealing with this.
The cost burden of security to our economy is reaching a crunch point that must be addressed.
I saw a female counter assistant rush out from Greggs and grab a sarnie from a light fingered passer by who had made of with it. She said "can we have our sandwich back please, don't come here again or next time we'll call the police". She then went back to the counter and continued serving, job done in thirty seconds.
Pop in to any bank, and you will see countless employees milling around doing nothing much, you will also see a large queue at the main counter with two or three cashier desks vacant! Why aren't the milling staff at those desks?
50 years ago, we all applied common sense and could multi-task at work. One minute we would show a shopper to an item, next apprehend a shop lifter, next serve 60 minutes behind a till, then head out to the warehouse to get some stock.
It's nothing personal against security guards, simply that they are a sympton of a badly ailing economy and country.
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Punchy says...
8:50am Sat 20 Mar 10
Obviously, the guy should not have been shoplifting. But it was the fact that he was restrained that led to the additional offences of assault and public order.