Colchester/Chelmsford: Officers link £20,000 in stolen items to two offenders

Two persistent shoplifters have been sentenced after officers caught up with them in a car on the A12 and uncovered thousands of pounds in stolen items in the boot.

On 19 January, officers identified a vehicle with two people in it which was suspected of being involved in shoplifting offences in Boots and Next, in the Stane Park retail area, in Stanway, Colchester.

When the Ford Focus was stopped, officers were able to quickly link the two men in the vehicle to a total of 11 incidents in the county, including in Next and Boots in Chelmer Village, Chelmsford.

One of the men appeared to be using a jacket which he had cut open in the lining to allow for items to be place there as he left each shop.

Thomas McDonagh, 21, of Warren Crescent, in Headington, Oxford, was charged with eight counts of theft from December 2024 and January 2025, amounting to almost £20,000 of items.

Martin Stokes, 23, of Aylesbury Street, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire was charged with one count of theft and two counts of going equipped, relating to two adapted jackets.
The pair admitted the offences and were sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 27 February.

McDonagh was sentenced to 16 months in prison and was made the subject of a five-year criminal behaviour order which bans him from any Next store in England and Wales any Boots shop in Essex.

The CBO also forbids him from being in any public place with a coat or over garment adapted for the use in the commission of committing theft and shoplifting offences or in possession of a de-tagging implement or any other device that could be used in the commission of committing theft and shoplifting offences.

Stokes was sentenced to 16 weeks in jail, suspended for 18 months and must complete 80 hours of unpaid work.

Sgt Dominic Potts, of Colchester local policing team, said:

“The value of goods taken by these two men is significant and this investigation shows that we will always look to bring all offending together as we build the strongest possible cases to put people before the courts.
“In McDonagh’s case, we’ve also secured a five-year criminal order, which means that when he is released from prison, if he continues to go to these shops, he’ll be breaching that order and could be sent back to prison.
“No business should have to put up with persistent offenders targeting them and we work determinedly across the county to identify the people causing the most harm to businesses, to catch them and ultimately put them before the courts.”