A SHOPLIFTER who wandered around a Chester supermarket “in a zombie-like state” with a knife in his pocket has avoided an immediate prison sentence.

Rodney Joseph Graylish, 36, was spotted and followed by security staff at Waitrose in Boughton on the afternoon of November 14 this year.

Chester Magistrates Court heard he had been selecting food and alcohol and made no attempt to conceal the items before walking out of the store.

Rob Youds, prosecuting, said he was detained before police arrived to arrest him. Officers then discovered a lock knife in his jeans pocket.

In his police interview, Graylish apologised for his behaviour and said he had been drinking both before and after a morning doctor’s appointment.

“He wanted to get tablets to help him sleep,” Mr Youds said. “He had been struggling recently and drinking heavily because of this. He said he was in an almost zombie-like state due to his intoxication.”

The defendant, of Hoole Road, Chester, said the knife had been in his pocket as he used it in his former job as a roofer. He had simply put the jeans on without realising it was there.

The court heard that he has six previous convictions and had been to prison in July 2018 for breaching a non-molestation order in Kent.

Richard Simm, defending, stressed Graylish had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to both theft and possession of a blade.

The solicitor also said his client had been the victim of a brutal gang attack while living in Kent. He had been assaulted with a knuckleduster leaving him with a fractured eye socket and broken cheek bone.

The gang had also threatened his girlfriend at their home leaving him with no option other than to leave the area.

“As a result of this attack his anxiety levels increased massively and there’s concern he has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result,” Mr Simm said. “He is still receiving treatment for his injuries.”

Possession of a knife normally carries an immediate prison sentence, but magistrates said they felt his personal circumstances meant they could suspend this.

He was given a four-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, and must complete up to 35 days of rehabilitation activity and a three-month alcohol treatment programme.

Graylish was also fined £50 for breaching his post-sentence supervision from a previous offence and must pay a £122 victim surcharge, which goes into a national pot to support victims of crime.

Magistrates ordered that the lock knife be destroyed.