Laptop thief jailed for biting Carlisle shop manager’s finger
Carlisle Crown Court heard Constantin Soponaru had a history of offending A laptop thief bit a shop manager’s finger “to the bone” after a chase through traffic, a court has heard. Constantin Soponaru fled a Currys store in the Kingstown area of Carlisle with the GBP1,200 computer.
After being caught, Soponaru bit the shop boss’s index finger, leaving him needing hospital treatment. At the city’s crown court, the 29-year-old denied theft and actual bodily harm but was jailed for 26 months after jurors found him guilty. The court heard he had taken the Acer laptop from a display on 29 September and walked out, leaving the power supply behind.
He was then chased by Currys employee Michael Downie, who tried to detain him until police arrived. Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson told the court Soponaru “bit Mr Downie’s index finger hard, with the cut going straight to the bone”.
‘Roaming thief’
Soponaru fled for a second time and was later caught by police as he hid behind a tree. Mr Downie needed five stitches and several injections to help prevent hepatitis B and tetanus.
The court heard Soponaru, originally from Romania but now living in Hampstead Road, Newcastle, had breached the conditions of a suspended jail term imposed after a similar theft. He had 18 offences on his criminal record including convictions for robbery in Romania, theft and assault in Italy and dishonesty offences in several areas of England. His barrister said Soponaru had lost both his parents and first entered the criminal justice system after getting into a fight.
He had also dabbled in heroin, the court was told, before meeting his wife. Judge Michael Fanning described him as “a roaming thief” who was “prepared to use violence when necessary”. Follow BBC Cumbria on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram.
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