A father of two in was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after his ‘greedy and violent’ actions saw him carry out a spate of shoplifting incidents in the northwest
A “greedy and violent” dad has been banned from every single JD Sports and Footasylum outlets in the UK after he attacked staff with a metal bar.
Jordan Lytollis was caught shoplifting from a Liverpool ONE store and warned staff he will “take your head off” if they came near him.
Following a spate of thefts in the northwest, Lytollis was jailed for 27 months and handed a criminal behaviour order. He shook his head as during sentencing, wearing a grey Montirex tracksuit, after he admitted affray, criminal damage and a total of 10 counts of theft.
“Violence and dishonesty seems to be second nature to you,” a judge at Liverpool Crown Court said to him yesterday, also saying Lytollis’ actions had amounted to violence and greed.
The court heard Lytollis went to attended JD Sports at Crownpoint Shopping Park in Denton, Tameside, on January 10 this year. Here, he stole £400 of clothing after removing security tags from the items in question and placing them into a bag for life.
Lytollis became aggressive when he was then challenged by the manager and “got into the face” of the man, who had recognised hm from previous shoplifting incidents, before he fled the store.
Two days later, Lytollis stole another £400 worth of goods at JD Sports at Rock Shopping Centre in Bury. Then on January 19, Lytollis and an accomplice went into a a JD Sports branch at Elk Mill Shopping Park in Oldham.
Lytollis selected a number of items before the accomplice went to the changing rooms to remove the tags. On this occasion, the items were left without being stolen, but Lytollis went to the Trafford Centre later the same day and took two designer coats, valued at £400, from Footasylum without paying.
On January 27, he attended the retailer’s outlet at the Arndale Centre in Manchester city centre and placed three tracksuits, worth £180, into a bag for life. However, having again been challenged by staff, Lytollis replied “don’t f***ing accuse me of stealing” and abandoned the items of stock on the floor before leaving.
Around an hour later, he returned to Crownpoint Shopping Park and attempted to steal further goods from JD Sports but similarly left empty handed after being confronted by staff. Lytollis would then return to Footasylum at the Trafford Centre on January 30, stealing £550 of designer clothing. He subsequently attended the same shop the following day and placed stickers over the security tags on items worth £470 in order to avoid setting off alarms when stealing them.
Three days later, shortly after 4.30pm on February 3, Lytollis entered Footasylum on Paradise Street in Liverpool city centre and placed around £160 of stock into a bag for life. However, he was caught in the act of shoplifting by employees and told that he would be banned from the premises.
Having been taken into a holding room within the store, Lytollis began searching the staff only area for an alternative exit. When he was unable to find a route out of the shop, he then armed himself with a metal bar and began swinging this weapon towards members of staff while warning “if you come anywhere near me, I’ll take your head off”, then damaged a locked door in order to escape.
Lytollis finally attended JD Sports at Cables Retail Park in Prescot on March 8 and placed £360 of clothing into a bag before running from the store without paying. He has a total of 26 previous convictions for 74 offences, including burglary and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Carmel Wilde, defending, told the court: “His offending was not to fund drugs or alcohol. Many in this court say that. It is an easy excuse to make, but he was very candid and held his hands up to say that it was to provide for his family. He took the easy option to clothe himself and says that he got greedy.
“He has two children. He knows that it is wrong. He perhaps lacks a little insight. It may seem like a multimillion pound corporation, but these losses have a dreadful impact on the economy and people’s jobs. He does express his regret.
“He knows that it has to stop, and it has stopped. These offences were from January and February. In that time, he has taken steps to better himself. He has now completed a three-day course for his CSCS card. He can then work on labouring sites and building sites.
“He is looking forward to having work as a focus and providing for his family legitimately. It was the shock of having a new born baby and then another one so quickly afterwards that led him to make these foolish choices.
“The defendant has taken steps to obtain qualifications and seek work. He does not have any drug or alcohol problems. He accepts that, in the past, he may have dabbled. He has a family to provide for. He is making strides to become a better father.”
The order imposed on Lytollis will bar him from entering every branch of JD Sports, Footasylum and Blacks in the UK for the next four years. His partner was meanwhile seen in tears in the public gallery as he was led to the cells.
Sentencing, Judge Ian Harris said: “You have received numerous prison sentences in the past, together with attempts at community disposals, yet no sentence or order seems to stop you from committing offences as and when you please. Violence and dishonesty seems to be second nature to you. You have learned very little, and you certainly were not deterred from further offending.
“I note that you were willing and able to travel from where you lived in St Helens to Liverpool or Manchester, together with an individual on occasion. You also had the use of a de-tagging device which enabled you to steal without alarms being activated. Your offending was planned and determined.
“You argued with members of staff. You became argumentative and aggressive when staff tried to apprehend you. You picked up a metal bar. You swung the bar at the employees many times. When another employee tried to assist, you threatened to take his head off.
“These people were doing their level best to work honestly, unlike you, and this is how you behaved when you were challenged. People working in the public sector are entitled to, and will receive, the protection of the courts from greedy and violent individuals like you.”