After a brief spell of freedom a man behind shoplifting and anti-social behaviour in Whitstable town centre has been sent back to prison after being found with a knife in the town.
Gerard McGuiness
Kent Police issued Gerard McGuiness with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) on 26 January 2024, prohibiting him from entering the town centre or causing a nuisance.
The 12-month notice was in response to repeated reports of McGuiness committing anti-social behaviour in the area and being drunk in public. Despite the notice, McGuiness continued to steal from shops in the town in January and February and was arrested, charged and jailed for 150 days in February this year.
Shortly after his release from that sentence, on 30 April, police saw McGuiness in Whitstable High Street with an open bottle of beer, breaching two terms of the CPN.
He was stopped and searched and found to have a carpet knife in his pocket, leading to him being arrested for possession of a knife. While being transported to custody, McGuiness repeatedly kicked and tried to bite a police officer.
The 30-year-old, of no fixed address, was later charged with breach of a CPN, possession of a knife and assaulting an emergency worker. He admitted those offences and, on 6 June, he was jailed for 328 days at Canterbury Crown Court.
Inspector Paul Barrell, of Canterbury district’s Victim Based Crime Team, said:
‘Kent Police will not tolerate people who make life a misery for residents and businesses in our towns and city.
‘The two jail terms handed down during the course of this CPN show we will take robust action against those who steal from shops and cause problems in town centres.’