Man given conditional discharge after court appearance for theft of items worth two pence

A man has appeared in court in Derry, Northern Ireland, charged with the theft of two aftershave testers from Boots valued at one pence each. Keith Shannon (44) with an address in Letterkenny or alternatively in Larne was charged with stealing the items on November 22 and on November 26. The court was told that police were called to Boots after reports that a man was seen to put something shiny in his pocket after being at the aftershave counter.
The man left without paying. On November 26 police received another report of a man being detained in Boots after lifting a tester and trying to leave the store without paying. The value of the testers was one pence each.
At interview Shannon said he had gone in to Boots with the intention of stealing the aftershave. District Judge Barney McElholm said he did not care whether Shannon lived in Letterkenny or Larne, but if he appeared at this court again for shoplifting he was going to prison. Shannon was given a conditional discharge for a period of two years.