A woman who threatened to stab a security guard while stealing items from a supermarket in Brierley Hill has been jailed for two years and three months.
Sharee McCarthy, 34, of Pheasant Street, Dudley, entered the supermarket on Sandringham Way on September 12 last year. The security guard recognized her as someone who had previously targeted the store and asked her to leave. Instead, McCarthy began taking items from the shelves and placing them into her rucksack.
When the guard told her to put the items back, she replied: “You don’t know what I have on me, I’ll stab you.” Fearing for his safety, the guard backed away and reported the incident.
McCarthy was arrested on September 25 and later pleaded guilty to robbery. She was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on April 23.
PC Luke Johnson, of Dudley’s Neighbourhood Crime Team, said: “McCarthy not only chose to commit shop theft but, in an attempt to get away with her crime, threatened an innocent member of staff, making him fear for his safety while he was simply doing his job.
“No one should ever have to go to work and fear for their lives when all they’re trying to do is their job. This is why we’ll always do everything in our power to find those responsible for shop thefts and retail crime and put them before the courts.
“I hope this sends a message to anyone who thinks they can get away with threatening innocent workers with violence that we will act and you will be arrested for your crimes. We want to continue to encourage businesses to report incidents to us so we can put more offenders like McCarthy behind bars.”
A West Midlands Police spokesperson added: “A shop thief who threatened to stab a security guard in a bid to get away with stealing from a store has been jailed.”
