Convicted killer jailed for Telford shoplifting spree weeks after judge gave him 'another chance'
A former bouncer whose life went on a “downward spiral” after he was jailed for manslaughter has been locked up for going on a shoplifting spree just weeks after a judge spared him jail for similar crimes.
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Neil Hotchkiss of Queen Street in Wellington was handed a 12-month suspended prison sentence on May 17 this year after being convicted of eight counts of shoplifting and the burglary at a Telford bike shop – where he and an accomplice stole more than £10,000 worth of cycles.
Judge Recorder Julian Taylor handed the 44-year-old a 12-month prison term but suspended it for two years, telling Hotchkiss: “If I see you again. I will not give you another chance.”
The court had heard that Hotchkiss' life “spiralled out of control” after a conviction for inflicting grievous bodily harm in 2012 was changed to manslaughter six years later after the man he assaulted died, and Hotchkiss was jailed a second time for the assault, which saw the defendant turn to drugs to “dim the pain”.
But on Thursday, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that after being given that chance by Recorder Taylor, Hotchkiss returned to shoplifting within weeks to fund his drug habit.
