Man faces jail after throwing sandwich at shop worker in Spalding

A man who threw a sandwich at a shop worker has been warned he could face jail.

James Arthur Quantrill was homeless when he attempted to steal food from the Spar shop in Spalding’s Winsover Road on October 22.

But when he was stopped by an employee he struck her with the sandwich, breaching a suspended sentence.

“The defendant picked up the sandwich and made no effort to pay,” prosecutor Turan Sunat told Boston Magistrates’ Court.

“The person who worked at the shop challenged him and as he left she told him he was barred.

“He threw the sandwich and it hit her face. It caused her pain.”

In defence, Daven Naghen said Quantrill (33) took the food out of ‘desperation’.

“He was homeless at that point in time and he went to steal the sandwich, not to to sell on, but to eat,” he said.

“He threw the sandwich back in the shop in the hope the shop worker would let him leave and that would be the end of the matter. He didn’t mean to hit her with it.

“But he’s made a bigger issue out of a small issue.”

Quantrill pleaded guilty to theft and assault by beating when he appeared in court on Wednesday.

District Judge Peter Veits was told the defendant was in breach of a suspended sentence imposed by Lincoln Crown Court for possession of a knife in prison and for carrying out threats to kill.

He decided the theft and assault charges should also be dealt with at the same time as his breach.

“The right court to decide whether to send you to prison is the crown court,” Judge Veits said.

Quantrill, who gave his address as The Meadows, Spalding, was released on bail with a condition not to go near the Spar shop on Winsover Road.