Man jailed for throwing shopkeeper at fridge and stealing vapes in Rugby

The 31-year-old will spend nine-and-a-half months behind bars.

Author: Ben CartwrightPublished 13th Jul 2023

A Rugby man who threw a shopkeeper at a fridge and repeatedly shoplifted vape pens and fizzy pop has been jailed.

Anthony Rea, 31, stole the items from a small shop in Hillmorton during a string of incidents.

During an incident on 1 March, Rea pushed the shopkeeper behind the counter while stealing a vape pen and, when the shopkeeper attempted to stop him from leaving, Rea threw him at a fridge.

When Rea, of Sewall Place, was interviewed by officers he claimed that he often tried to pay for goods but the shopkeeper would not let him.

Rea was subsequently charged with nine counts of shoplifting and one count of assault.

On July 7 magistrates sentenced him to 9.5 months in prison – six weeks for shoplifting and assault and 32 weeks for reoffending while on licence.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.