Luke Handley - picture issued by Gloucestershire Police.

A prolific shoplifter has walked free from court for the second time in seven months after a new spree of offences during which he sparked a four hour seige, threatening police with knives after climbing onto scaffolding in Cheltenham.

The stand-off happened in Bishops Court, Cheltenham, when Luke Handley, 31, threatened to 'spark out' anyone who came near him, Gloucester Crown Court heard yesterday (July 25).

He smashed the window of a flat and climbed in to steal two kitchen knives, using them to threaten police officers. He also got a stick and broke it in two, saying it would make a good spear, the court was told.

Handley, 31, of Hanson Gardens, Bishops Cleeve, was before the court for multiple offences of theft and also for breaching the terms of a community order imposed in December last year.

His theft spree began in March 2021 when he stole meat products from the BP Garage in Prestbury Road in Cheltenham and went back to do the same on several more occasions - taking a total of more than £400 worth of steaks, sausages and joints of meat, said prosecutor Nicola Wood.

He also stole £320 worth of polo shirts from the Luke 1997 clothing store in Cheltenham.

On July 27, 2021 Handley entered Urban Outfitters in Cheltenham and stole around £1,400 worth of clothing. When he was challenged by the store’s manager, Handley said, ‘Do you want to get stabbed?’ which suggested to the manager that Handley was carrying a bladed article, said the prosecutor.

Handley left the store without paying for the items but while being chased he dropped a few things that were later retrieved. Some of these had been damaged, however, and could not be resold.

Further offences in August 2021 began at the Tesco Express store in Cheltenham’s High Street on August 12th and 26th and meat and chocolate worth £179 were stolen, said Ms Wood.

On September 11th, staff at the town's Superdrug store managed to apprehend Handley before he left with stolen items of makeup and they were recovered.

Handley then targeted Sainsbury’s in Priors Road and stole several bottles of whisky, one concealed down his trouser leg and the other in a rucksack, said the prosecutor.

He was stopped outside the store by two members of staff and he threatened to stab them - but despite this they recovered the whisky bottles.

The prosecutor said that on September 6th 2021, in Tewkesbury, Handley stole nine waterproof jackets valued at £1,799.91 from Mountain Warehouse.

On January 13 this year Handley went into the Poundland Retail Store in Cheltenham and stole laundry products to the value of £79. Two days later he entered Sainsburys in Prior’s Road, Cheltenham and stole alcohol valued at £210. He smashed one bottle and threatened staff when challenged, saying he had ‘needles’.

On his arrest Handley explained that things were very hard for him as his pharmacist had stopped his methadone medication without notice.

The court was told that Handley was also before the court for a third set of offences which dated back to Christmas Eve last year.

Ms Wood said: “Mr Pathmanathan Pratheepan had parked outside his house in Cheltenham during the morning and momentarily left the keys of his VW Passat in the ignition. During the few seconds he was away from the vehicle, Handley, along with a second man, jumped in and stole the vehicle.

“About 15 minutes later the pair were seen entering The Factory Shop in Bishops Cleave and stealing a number of sportswear items valued at £195.

Judge Ian Lawrie QC told Handley ““You have a troubled history. The easy answer is to lock you up, but that solves very little.”

“The vehicle was later stopped at 1pm the same day in Prestbury Road in Cheltenham and Handley was driving the vehicle. The police recovered the stolen items of sportswear from the back seat.

“The pair were taken into custody and Handley was subjected to tests for alcohol and drugs. The drug reading was extremely high.”

The prosecutor stated that Handley's final set of offences occurred on February 17 this year when police officers responded to an emergency call saying that somebody was climbing the scaffolding outside Bishops Court in Cheltenham.

Ms Wood continued: “Handley threatened to jump from the scaffolding and warned anybody that came close to him that he would use some of the equipment he had just picked up like a knuckle duster. ‘I will spark them out’, he said.

“Officers tried to negotiate with Handley, but this ended after an hour when he smashed the window of a flat and threw something at the officers.

“Handley then picked up a length of wood and snapped it in half and commented that it would make a good spear.

“Handley climbed into the flat through the window he had just broken and took two knives from the kitchen drawer and pointed them at the officers who had gained entry through the front door.

“The police commented that Handley’s eyes were wide open and his face screwed up in anger as he threatened them with the knives.

“Handley then climbed back onto the scaffolding through the window, taking the knives with him.

“The whole incident lasted four hours and ended when Handley agreed to re-enter the flat where he was arrested.”

Steve Young, defending, said: “Since Handley was remanded in custody he has undergone a number of tests for his mental health and his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"And now, for the first time, he is on quite strong medication for these disorders. He has spent many years in custody and these mental health issues have never been taken into account.

“When he was last released from prison he came out on crutches after breaking his foot. Because of this he missed his methadone prescription meeting and consequently fell back into drug use.

"While in prison he has abstained from drugs altogether and those five months have allowed him to address his mental issues.”

Judge Ian Lawrie QC observed: “We need to keep things in perspective. Because Handley has already spent five months in prison, any custodial sentence I impose today would only amount to weeks and when he is released we would be in the same position.”

The judge told Handley: “You have a troubled history. The easy answer is to lock you up, but that solves very little.

“Therefore I feel a three-year community order is the most appropriate sentence.

"But this is no easy option and if you fail, you know where you will be going. I’m hoping that the mental health element will help and encourage you to work with others and overcome your issues.”

The judge ordered that Handley undertake a 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement, attend 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and undertake an 18-month mental health assessment and attend court for monthly judicial reviews.

Handley was also fined £50 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and was banned from driving for two years and had his licence endorsed.

THE FULL LIST OF CHARGES THAT HAnDLEY ADMITTED:

*Affray between February 15 and 18 this year by threatening unlawful violence towards others;

*Criminal damage to a window at Bishop’s Court in Cheltenham belonging to the Borough Council between the same dates;

*Assaulting emergency workers PC Julia Martin-Jones and DC David Satchwell, also between the same dates;

*Theft on September 6, 2021 of jackets belonging to Mountain Warehouse, Tewkesbury;

*On January 2022 at Cheltenham stole bottles of alcohol belonging to Sainsbury's Retail Store;

*On January 13 this year at Cheltenham stole laundry products belonging to Poundland Retail Store.

*Theft of a VW Passat owned by Mr Pathmanathan Pratheepan on Christmas Eve 2021;

*Theft of sportswear valued at £195 from the Factory Shop in Bishops Cleeve on the same date;

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