Heroin addict jailed after stealing Simpsons toy set

A prolific offender has been jailed after stealing carbon monoxide alarms and a Simpsons character set.Magistrates felt they had no choice but to hand Outwell man Darrell Cousins a spell behind bars after he breached a suspended sentence and conditional discharge by committing the offences on November 11.He was originally handed those orders in September after a series of assaults, thefts and racially aggravated crimes – and when he appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, he had committed 125 offences in total.

The suspended sentence was activated, which will see Cousins, aged 50 and of Suttons Close, spend 24 weeks in prison.He will serve a consecutive two-week sentence for breaching his conditional discharge, while a one-week term for his recent thefts will be served concurrently.Cousins stole a candle and reed diffuser worth £16.48 from Aldi in Gaywood in November, before pinching carbon monoxide alarms and a Simpsons character toy set worth a combined £64.99 from B&M on the Hardwick industrial estate. He will pay compensation to Aldi, but the B&M items were recovered.In mitigation, solicitor Alison Muir had argued that Cousins was making good progress in his recovery from heroin addiction and should be allowed to continue his work with the probation service. Despite admitting he still has cocaine and cannabis in his system, she insisted that the help “seems to be working”.“This is not going to be a short fix – it is going to take time to get him off everything, but it is a start,” she said.She added that it would be “a shame to throw it away” by activating the suspended sentence, and said the frequency of his offending had been greatly reduced. Probation officer Lewis Spicer confirmed that Cousins’ compliance with the service has been “high”, saying he has been “open and honest”.However, magistrates said there was “no other option” but to send him to prison.