Prolific thief locked up after stealing solely from Boyes department stores, including at Whitby's
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Stephen Golubovic, 53, stole fantasy war-games videos and pots of paint from several branches of the 140-year-old department store, which was founded in Scarborough in 1881, during a 16-month thieving spree between December 2019 and March this year, York Crown Court heard.
One of those branches was in Whitby, where Golubovic stole just short of £500 of paint and Games Workshop videos, said prosecutor Rob Galley.
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Hide AdGolubovic also targeted branches in Northallerton, Skipton, Retford in Nottinghamshire, Matlock in Derbyshire and Barnsley, stealing a total of £1,895 of goods.
During one of the incidents, he spat in the face of a female shop assistant who suspected him of stealing and confronted him.
Golubovic then kicked a male shop worker who tried to restrain him.
He was finally arrested after being stopped outside a Homebase store in a Nissan X-Trail.
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Hide AdGolubovic was charged with five counts of shoplifting and two of common assault against shop workers.
He ultimately admitted the offences and appeared for sentence on Tuesday (Dec 7).
Golubovic, a drug user who had been addicted to heroin and crack cocaine for more than 30 years, had a whopping 97 previous convictions for 259 offences.
A good many of them were for shoplifting but he also had a record for serious violence, burglary and being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
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Hide AdStephen Munro, mitigating, said Golubovic, who had mental-health problems, had embarked on his epic thieving spree to pay off a drug debt.
Judge Simon Hickey described Golubovic’s latest thieving spree as a “pattern of attacks against Boyes stores”.
He told the serial thief: “I have never seen a record such as yours.
"You are a determined, travelling, professional shoplifter.”
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Hide AdGolubovic, of Buckingham Street, Scunthorpe, was jailed for 19 months.
He will serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on parole.
Mr Hickey also made a lifetime restraining order banning Golubovic from entering any Boyes store in the UK.