Men charged as police tackle Sandwell shop thefts
Two people have been charged with shop theft crimes in the Sandwell region.
West Midlands Police have said that two people have been charged with shop thefts as they continue to tackle high street crime in Sandwell.
Lee Egege, aged 39, of no fixed address, has been charged with five counts of shop theft after more than £1,000 of items were stolen from a store on Bearwood Road, Smethwick, between August 20 and September 2.
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He was remanded into custody to appear at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court today.
A second person, Tomas Stanford, aged 45, from Tipton, was also charged with burglary after a break-in at a store on Brickhouse Lane South on July 11, where electrical items and alcohol were stolen.
Stanford was also charged with theft from a shop on August 10 at a store on Charles Street in West Bromwich.
He was remanded into custody and was due to appear at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court today.
Another man, aged 32, has also been arrested on suspicion of three shop thefts between August 8 and September 3 in the West Bromwich area.
He remains in custody for questioning.
A force spokesperson said: "We’re catching hundreds more suspected shop thieves in the West Midlands as we continue to act against retail crime across the region.
"Arrests for shop theft offences have risen over 60% in the last two years as we’ve improved the way we respond to crime reports.
"Sandwell South has its own dedicated retail crime team that identifies prolific offenders and brings them to justice."
