Extra jail time for Telford shoplifter who bit security guard in 'aggressive' Shrewsbury incident
A prisoner has had eight months added on to his jail time after magistrates heard that a syringe he had been flailing around in a Shrewsbury town centre store was found sticking out of a security guard's protective jacket.
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Thomas Arnold is currently a serving prisoner at HMP Hewell having been sent down for three years for a robbery offence and he appeared over a video link at Telford Magistrates Court on Tuesday .
The court was told that Arnold, aged 35, previously of Bank Road, Wellington, kicked off in the store after being challenged over walking out without paying for duvets valued at £187.50.
Arnold pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing actual bodily harm, two counts of threatening the guards with a syringe in the Darwin Shopping Centre, and a fourth count of shoplifting at Marks & Spencer, in Pride Hill.
Kate Price, prosecuting, said Arnold had been intercepted by security staff during the incident on June 1, 2023.
"The duvets were dropped on the floor, he lifted his coat, went into a pocket and produced a syringe with a two or three inch needle," she said.
"He was aggressive. One of the security guards said he feared violence as Arnold put the syringe out in front of him and tried to push past."
Arnold waved the syringe around as security, including two cleaners, held him down.
