In March of 2024, Northamptonshire Police received a report of an incident at the Tesco store in Windmill Avenue, Kettering, Northants, in which three shoplifting suspects had assaulted a staff member who had tried to stop them leaving.
The subsequent investigation led to the identification of 44-year-old Matthew White (above) as one of the offenders, who was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).
Chloe Molloy, aged 35, and Gemma Vickery (above right), 36, were identified as the other offenders and were both charged with ABH and theft from a shop.
All three were found guilty at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on 5 March this year.
Just over a month later on 23 April at the same court, Vickery was sentenced for the two charges relating to the Tesco incident, as well as theft from another Kettering shop on 19 March this year, on top of an attempted theft from a Northampton shop on the same date - and four counts of possession of drugs, receiving a total of 52 weeks’ imprisonment and being ordered to pay £250 compensation,
Following this on 22 May, White, also of Kettering, appeared before Northampton Crown Court where he was jailed for 15 months for the assault and ordered to pay a £187 victim surcharge.
Speaking afterwards, PC Sara Price of CID North, who investigated the Tesco assault, said: “Everyone should have the right to go to work and do their job safely, including retail staff.
“Matthew White is a prolific offender who acted as a lookout during this incident, while his co-defendants tried to leave without paying for goods. All three offenders then used physical force to leave the store, causing a painful injury to a member of staff.
“It’s right that White and Vickery were jailed for this assault. Northamptonshire Police takes all forms of retail crime seriously, including attacks on store workers.”
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