Starving family forced man to steal groceries from store

Starving family forced man to steal groceries from store

27 August 2014

A LITHUANIAN man has claimed he was driven to steal food from a Downpatrick store because his family was starving.

Forty two year-old Egidijus Mikalajunas stole over £320 of food from the Asda supermarket in Downpatrick on July 9, the town’s court was told on Thursday.

Staff at the store contacted police having seen Mikalajunas putting a large quantity of items into a shopping trolley and then leaving the store without paying for them, a prosecutor said.

He was seen on CCTV putting the items into the back of a vehicle and then driving off.

Police stopped Mikalajunas driving the vehicle in Portadown and found all of the items in the boot. The stolen items were food, washing powder and nappies.

The defence solicitor said Mikalajunas, of Markethill Road, Portadown, is a Lithuanian man who had been living in Northern Ireland for nine years. He had been working full-time to support his wife and three children until he lost his job in the spring.

He has been looking for another job, but has not been able to get one yet.

He also applied for benefits, but was told he was eligible for £596 a month. The family’s rent is £520 a month. The family had no money for food and was starving, so Mikalajunas took the food from Asda that day.

He was literally stealing food to survive,” his solicitor said. “He simply felt he had no other option.”

Deputy District Judge Mr Terence Dunlop gave Mikalajunas a conditional discharge for two years.

I’m extremely sorry for the predicament that you find yourself in,” he said. “But it can never ever be appropriate to steal from others.”