Thief back in court after breaching Kettering Co-op ban

A prolific Kettering thief has appeared before magistrates again after breaching an order which bans him from dozens of shops.

Ricky Long, 35, was handed a three-year criminal behaviour order (CBO) in 2020 over numerous shoplifting incidents as well as threats and abuse.

The ban prohibits him from entering any Co-op in Corby and Kettering, any BP or Tesco store in Kettering, retail premises in Kettering's town centre and stores in the area around Stanier Close off Northfield Avenue.

Police released his image and urged people to contact them if he flouted the order – and this month he was back in court after he was caught breaching it in 2021.

Magistrates in Northampton were told Long, who is formerly of Kettering and now of Palk Road in Wellingborough, entered the Co-op store in London Road, Kettering, on July 10 and 15 last year.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching a CBO and was sentenced to a conditional discharge, meaning he will avoid further punishment as long as he stays out of trouble for the next year

Long was ordered to pay court costs of £85 and a surcharge to fund victim services of £22.

In August 2021 Long was jailed for the third time in less than a year after breaching his CBO by entering Kettering’s London Road Tesco and then threatening to knock a shop worker out.

He had previously also threatened to smash a man’s head in at the BP services on the A14 westbound at Kettering