15 November 2023 , 22:57
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A senior university criminology lecturer was stole more than £500 of steak and wine from Marks and Spencer, a court heard.
It is alleged Pauline Al Said, 33, was stopped at a garden centre, from which she is also accused of stealing, and staff found around £570 of high-end steak and alcohol in her bags. A court also heard the academic stole Le Creuset cookware and boutique gin in other incidents in the "run up to Christmas" last year.
Jurors at Winchester Crown Court have also been informed Al Said, formerly a senior lecturer in criminology at Bath Spa University, had a a de-tagging device in her possession at the garden centre. Prosecutors said the defendant was caught by undercover security guards at Old Barn nursery in Horsham, West Sussex, with 33 thick-cut sirloin, ribeye and fillet steaks, from Marks and Spencer, piled into her trolley.
Pauline Al Said and Mark Wheatcroft, of Hampshire, are both accused of theft (Andrew Croft/Solent News)When she was confronted at the garden centre, Al Said's husband Mark Wheatcroft allegedly threatened to '"lay out" the store detective and then threw a punch at him. Al Said and her 54-year-old spouse made the first shoplifting attempt at the Old Barn nursery on December 14, 2021, it is alleged.
Mary Aspinall-Miles, prosecuting, told jurors the store had hired an undercover security guard - called John Dunkling - to "prevent loss" at the garden centre.
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Ms Aspinall-Miles said: "[Mr Dunkling] noticed Mrs Al Said pushing around a trolley in the gift area.
"It caught his attention because her trolley already had carrier bags in it that were not attributed to the nursery. They appeared to be full.
"He followed her around the gift section to see what she was doing. He lost sight of her and looked at the store's CCTV to see where she had gone.
"She may have disappeared - you might think - when she realised a store detective was paying attention to her."
Ms Aspinall-Miles said the store detective spotted Al Said "pushing customers" as she tried to exit through the front entrance. Mr Dunkling followed her out of the shop and when he caught up with her she said "I am just looking for my husband".
It is said he asked to look inside her bags and Al Said passed him one saying "You can have your stuff, I am going". Inside the bag was £400 worth of "high-value spirits" including Mermaid brand gin and spiced rum.
Of a second bag that Mr Dunkling searched, Ms Aspinall-Miles asked the court: "What was in it? More bottles of alcohol, Le Creuset cookware and a Le Creuset condiment set." Le Creuset is a popular French-Belgian maker of high-end cast iron cookware. The court heard that the detective began walking Mrs Al Said back into the store when Wheatcroft - also known as Mohammed Al Said - appeared.
Mr Dunkling recognised him from CCTV footage which showed Wheatcroft walking around the nursery with his wife earlier that day. Wheatcroft told the detective "Just forget it, we're going", jurors were told. Ms Aspinall-Miles said: "Not only did Mr Wheatcroft not offer any assistance, explanation or apology, he became very aggressive to Mr Dunkling."
She said he told the store detective to "F*** off or I will lay you out" and when Mr Dunkling tried to take a photo of him, Wheatcroft "threw a punch" at him. Al Said's stolen goods - worth £581.43 - were seized and a search of her "personal bag" uncovered a security tag remover which she had used to "snip off and discard" tags around the store, the court heard.
Police later arrived and took details from the couple, who are from Southsea, Hampshire. The following September, the court heard Al Said was walking around Marks and Spencer in Winchester, Hampshire, when another undercover security detective thought her behaviour was suspicious.
He noticed her "piling in meat" to large shopping bags and said when she noticed he was watching her, the ex-lecturer allegedly "flicked him the middle finger". Al Said tried to leave the store but was caught by the security detective, the court heard.
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The freezer bags in her trolley were searched and Ms Aspinall-Miles said she had around 33 steaks in there. She said: "They aren't just any piece of meat - they are high-value pieces of meat. Thick-cut sirloin, thick-cut ribeye, thick-cut fillet."
The prosecutor said also in her possession were six bottles of red wine, three bottles of white wine. In total, she allegedly stole £570.42 worth of products from M&S. When Al Said was arrested, it was said she had just £3.33 on her. Ms Aspinall-Miles said: "Both of these [incidents] relate to high-value goods.
"These are traditional items that shoplifters take, they are easily sold on to others. [Al Said and Wheatcroft] acted dishonestly with intent to deprive Old Barn Nurseries and Marks and Spencers of their goods."
Al Said denies two charges of theft and Wheatcroft denies one count of theft and one count of assault. The trial continues.