Jail for Newport thief's 390th offence

9:58am Monday 4th February 2013 in Gwent news Photograph of the Author By Chris Wood, Reporter

LONG RECORD: Andrew 'Fingers' Davies LONG RECORD: Andrew 'Fingers' Davies

A SERIAL thief dubbed "Gwent’s most prolific offender" has notched up his 390th conviction after getting caught stealing blocks of cheese from Tesco.

Andrew John Paul Davies, 33, dubbed 'Fingers' has been a regular offender since the age of 15, with 257 of his convictions being for thefts and burglaries.

He has spent much of the last 18 years in jail, with many shops in and around Newport falling victim to his offending.

Davies appeared at Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court on Thursday via video link from Parc Prison - where he is currently serving a 42-day sentence.

He pleaded guilty to stealing £16.72 worth of cheese from Tesco Express, Cambrian Road, on January 8.

The court heard Davies had taken cocaine before the offence. Defence solicitor Gareth Williams said: "He has an unenviable, very long record. But, this was unsophisticated, he put a few blocks of cheese in his jumper."

Chairwoman of the bench Gay Gwinnutt sentenced Davies to 14 days in prison after he admitted the offence - citing his long list of previous for it being "harsher than it would have been".

Davies of Palmyra Place has been jailed on many occasions over the years, including in March 2006 after admitting burglary of HMV, burglary of Peacocks, Maindee, stealing perfume from Next and shoplifting from Spar.

At the time, prosecutor Craig Bond said: "He is probably Gwent’s most prolific offender."

Then, he had notched up 277 convictions, 175 for theft and had been given a two-year anti-social behaviour order banning him from entering Newport city centre in June 2005.

Other convictions included seven for drugs, seven offences against property, two frauds, two weapons offences and one assault.

His offending continued and in March 2011, Davies was jailed for 32 weeks after admitting stealing six jars of Nescafe from Marks and Spencer.

A justice system source said: "Fingers has been in and out of prison all his life and is well-known for hanging around Newport shops in his white shell suit.

"He’d steal anything, even the sugar out of your tea. He’s not violent, just a thief."

His sentence will run concurrently to his current sentence and Davies will be free in the middle of February.

‘Outrageous’ offending - councillor

Newport city councillor for the Allt-yr-Yn ward Matthew Evans called his consistent offending "outrageous" and said the cost to the public purse, in court appearances over the years "must be extortionate".

He said: "We can’t have someone continually breaking the law day-in day-out. It is unfair to the victims and something is clearly wrong, the system is failing.

"It can’t be beyond us to work out why he keeps doing it, the deeper issues. Until someone grasps the bull by the horns and sorts out the other issues, he should be put in jail, in a secure unit, to stop him re-offending."

A spokeswoman for Gwent Police said she could not comment on individual offenders, but said: "Newport Neighbourhood Policing Team has dedicated officers who patrol the City Centre in order to target shoplifting.

"They work closely with management and security staff at retail premises in the area on prevention and enforcement.

"Anyone with information relating to individuals shoplifting in the area is asked to contact 101."

ARGUS COMMENT: Catalogue of villainy

AFTER getting caught committing 390 crimes you would have thought Andrew John Paul Davies would have learned his lesson by now.

The man dubbed Gwent’s most prolific offender in 2006 is, six year later, still up to no good and is currently serving a 14 day jail sentence for stealing cheese.

His catalogue of villainy reads like a shoplifters' charter and is indeed excessive.

But our front-page story is an unfortunate reality for many courts these days.

While we read of the many successful prosecutions resulting in significant jail time for the offenders, the magistrates’ courts see the likes of Davies on a daily basis.

Petty and persistent criminals who see court appearances and prison sentences as an occupational hazard.

His crimes may seem minor but people like Davies present a very real problem for the justice system and taxpayers.

He costs money to arrest, he costs money to prosecute and he costs money to house in jail.

It is clear that punishment does not act as the deterrent it should, so what can we do?

As councillor Matthew Evans summed up: "It can’t be beyond us to work out why he keeps doing it."

Until we do criminals like Davies will continue to clog up our courts and prisons.

Comments(42)

merlin the silure says...
10:45am Mon 4 Feb 13

is this what I pay my taxes for?? to keep scum like this in court appearances??-lock him and throw the key away-after 300 odd convictions he isnt going to change now. ggrrrrrrrr

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welshflinty says...
11:07am Mon 4 Feb 13

Invite him to break into my shed, while Im nearby.Problem solved.

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Lucha Libre says...
11:08am Mon 4 Feb 13

Jailed for thieving coffee and cheese? If he went and fiddled with some little kids or had indecent images of kids on his computer he would still be on the out, like the two peados from last weeks Argus.

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Llanmartinangel says...
11:17am Mon 4 Feb 13

Best argument for three strikes and its a life sentence I've seen for a while.

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dalesman1666 says...
11:49am Mon 4 Feb 13

Sounds like the sort of guy if you shook his hand you would have to count your fingers afterwards. Habitual thief who has no respect for peoples property or the legal system. keep him locked up for an indefinate period as he is a one man crime wave.

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On the inside says...
12:10pm Mon 4 Feb 13

Llanmartinangel wrote:
Best argument for three strikes and its a life sentence I've seen for a while.
Incredible. Prisons, a public service you are prepared to put your hand in your pocket for.

Report this post »

Dai the Milk says...
12:30pm Mon 4 Feb 13

He is lucky he doesn't live in Saudi. He'd have no hand left to steal then. Are we the most liberal country in the world? A paradise for thieves and paedophiles?

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Llanmartinangel says...
1:30pm Mon 4 Feb 13

On the inside wrote:
Llanmartinangel wrote:
Best argument for three strikes and its a life sentence I've seen for a while.
Incredible. Prisons, a public service you are prepared to put your hand in your pocket for.
If they aren't for locking up pointless cretins like this then why have them at all? Besides, you either pay for the prison or the losses these people visit on everyone else so yep, I'll pay for the prison thanks. Mind you, they must have tried the 'community service' options with him and clearly that didn't work so what would YOU give him? A free holiday in Barbados?

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jaggededge says...
2:06pm Mon 4 Feb 13

look at his photo anybody in? complete moron

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ncfcr says...
2:33pm Mon 4 Feb 13

The courts gave this guy a chance when he was 15; but he stole it and sold it for 6 cubes of Oxo.

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Desmond Tutu says...
3:15pm Mon 4 Feb 13

What a scumbag. Let him try and burgle my house and he'd go by the name of "Broken Fingers" for the rest of his life!!!!

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Goldy_Lookin_Clart says...
3:37pm Mon 4 Feb 13

Bark in the day like our old mate "John Frost", we could ave ad im transported at her majesties pleisure. I do rue the day like when we gave up our antipodean lands. See send im to docks and 3 months later e could be in oz cracking rocks for the duration. Instead e will be donning his leisure suit and going on da rob!!!!

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blackandamber says...
4:49pm Mon 4 Feb 13

I'm all forgiving anybody a second chance but 390 convictions. The maximum sentence for burglary alone is 14 years. If you apply maximum sentences to recidivists instead of a few months here and there, then at least you have got rid of the problem for a long time.

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Goldy_Lookin_Clart says...
4:54pm Mon 4 Feb 13

This CHAV do remind me of that old lag reg off Porridge like!!!

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The Red Claw says...
6:14pm Mon 4 Feb 13

I think we can all now safely assume that the policy of continually releasing him from prison isn't working very well.

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Independentvoter says...
6:15pm Mon 4 Feb 13

He has been given the green light by the 'system' to get away with shoplifting for a very long time, so he did.

This repeat offending could of been nipped in the bud at an early stage if the cause had been recognised and treated accordingly.

So who's to blame ?

Him for having a drug problem ?

The courts for failing to place him on a drug rehabilitation program ?

The polititions for making crime laws that are obviously not working ? (390th conviction).

The people who buy the stolen jars of Coffee etc? We all know theres a huge market and people shoplift to order.

He obviously has a problem with an expensive cocaine habit and needs some help to get off 'class A' drugs.

I don't believe prison is the right option for him this time. It hasn't worked in the past. He should be given some help and support, but if after rehabilitation and support someone re-offends then they should be sent to prison.

I wonder how many cautions he's had too ?

I think we have all worked out the hidden issues that surround his re-offending. He could be crying out for help, but the support is sadly not there for him and probably many others.

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Dolieboy says...
6:20pm Mon 4 Feb 13

Tough on crime...............
....

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merlin the silure says...
6:40pm Mon 4 Feb 13

Independentvoter wrote:
He has been given the green light by the 'system' to get away with shoplifting for a very long time, so he did.

This repeat offending could of been nipped in the bud at an early stage if the cause had been recognised and treated accordingly.

So who's to blame ?

Him for having a drug problem ?

The courts for failing to place him on a drug rehabilitation program ?

The polititions for making crime laws that are obviously not working ? (390th conviction).

The people who buy the stolen jars of Coffee etc? We all know theres a huge market and people shoplift to order.

He obviously has a problem with an expensive cocaine habit and needs some help to get off 'class A' drugs.

I don't believe prison is the right option for him this time. It hasn't worked in the past. He should be given some help and support, but if after rehabilitation and support someone re-offends then they should be sent to prison.

I wonder how many cautions he's had too ?

I think we have all worked out the hidden issues that surround his re-offending. He could be crying out for help, but the support is sadly not there for him and probably many others.
I'm sorry,this post and others like it are part of the problem-typical chattering-class liberalism guff.
"he could be crying out for help"" I dont believe prison is the right option for him this time" "he has a drug problem"

ffs get real-this type of scumbag will just keep on offending.

I've got a bad habit too-its called not having enough money to live a comfortable life BUT I dont go out robbing to further my ends.

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Goldy_Lookin_Clart says...
6:43pm Mon 4 Feb 13

I reckons merlin is a hand wringing posho from caerleon like.
I say send im down for a large stretch cracking rocks. It was good enough for John Frost like.

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trigg_27 says...
7:03pm Mon 4 Feb 13

And the key part of this report is that his sentence will run concurrently with his existing sentence. That means that he will not serve any additional time in prison for this latest offence and will be out and back to his old ways at the same time as if he hadn't been prosecuted.

Effectively, the money spent on prosecuting this case has been wasted and serves only to inflate the crime clear-up statistics.

Concurrent sentences are little more than a scam to make people think that justice has been done. Meanwhile the criminals laugh at the system knowing that they've effectively got away with it.

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tomh2012 says...
7:13pm Mon 4 Feb 13

From a public perspective this a damned if you do, damned if you dont case.
Either way whether he goes to jail or not the public are out of pocket.
In my opinion people like this should be shipped out to places of war i.e Afghanistan etc and play skivvies tot he hard working honest men defending the country.

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sisterlisa says...
7:18pm Mon 4 Feb 13

People are entitled to own opinions however; people are always too quick to judge a person by what negative things they have done with their life. Yes he has a drug problem but prison is not the answer for him. Nobody knows his history and what causes the problem so they automatically think he is a bad person. However he is not a bad person at all he is just somebody who has a drug issues that needs support 100% of the time and not locked up. For the last three months before this incident yes I know only three months but Andrew was doing so well, we started to get our relationship back on track until an incident at scope where they refused to treat him for his drug addiction which left him all over Christmas without medication that’s why he reoffended. Because he said to me with tears in his eyes that he will use drugs again and this is because when he was at scope the lady that was dealing with him dropped medication on the floor which he picked up and put in his pocket. Yes I know he shouldn’t have put it in his pocket but he did. But these people know who they are dealing with so they should only enter the room with the prescription for that person. So the lady came back in the room and said Andrew where’s the tablet I dropped and he handed the tablet back to her. She said to him that she is refusing to treat him anymore so he had to go cold turkey all over Christmas and New Year with no help and no support from them. I was so happy to have my first Christmas with my brother after 15years as he was always locked up. However; it was upsetting to see him over Christmas lunch as you could see he was suffering because they had stopped his medication which I thought was not allowed. So yet again the system has let him down once again. Love you boy. I will always be here for him.

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Mr Bump. says...
7:44pm Mon 4 Feb 13

Is that Freds boy?

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foxy3rd says...
8:00pm Mon 4 Feb 13

That might be an excuse for this time, but what about all the other times.Being burgled is just about the worst non-physical thing that can happen to you, it gives you a totally different outlook on life and does terrible things mentally regarding your house.Part of the problem, beside treatment is that most Judges are too soft and haven't got the sense they were born with.

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The Red Claw says...
8:35pm Mon 4 Feb 13

Thanks Sisterlisa, for a few moments there, I was actually under the mistaken belief that Andrew himself had been responsible for his long and impressive list of offences.
I now realise that the actual culprit all along was none other than that well known master criminal, ‘The System’.
Your loyalty is to be commended. However, if you wish to promote Andrew’s tale of woe in a positive light, it may well help his case if you ask him to kindly stop stealing from us. If he ceases to do so then, in time, we may be may be inclined to view him with a far more sympathetic ear. You could also have a very strong word with those so called mates, friends, contacts or whatever else he describes them as, who sell or give drugs to him in the first place, and who are obviously very keen to exploit for profit someone who appears to be extremely weak willed in character.

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Dave Angel says...
11:58pm Mon 4 Feb 13

Well done all for giving this man a nickname to live up to, he now has a badge to wear to impress all like minded low life to look up to !.

Well done too to Gwent Police for the drop in crime stats, this man shows you are duping the public. How many offences has this man committed, 390 convictions !. Boy he must me unlucky if he has been caught every time. No, he has got away with at least 20 offences for every one he has been convicted for. So much for statistics.

This man is violent when confronted, as a security officer I have had dealings with him. I have known this man for about 20 years and he will never learn.


Is a custodial sentance to punish or rehabilitate ?.

I am a firm believer that a custodial sentance should be 50% punishment and 50% rehabilitation.

So where has the system gone wrong with this dispicable individual?.

I look forward to seeing him again soon as I know the last line of defence against people like this is not the justice system.

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Dolieboy says...
7:33am Tue 5 Feb 13

He had obviously been watching the American gangsta films where they talk about cheese and not being too bright, he decided that was what he wanted.

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rhinestine says...
7:39am Tue 5 Feb 13

THE BIRCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Katie Re-Registered says...
8:13am Tue 5 Feb 13

"ARGUS COMMENT: Catalogue of villainy"

Flippin' 'eck, Argus: most of us agree that stealing is wrong and that thieves should get their just desserts (even if it was cheesecake in this case) but 'catalogue of villany' makes him sound like Richard III or something lol(!)

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regaturn says...
12:13pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Through my line of work I've known this thief for the past 20 years, everytime I dealt with him it was never his fault , he always blamed someone else or the system. He is a real low life and would steal the fillings out of your teeth given the chance, prison is the answer, I only hope that sister lisa had the receipt for her Christmas prezzie from him.

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tomh2012 says...
12:33pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Mr Bump. wrote:
Is that Freds boy?
Yes.

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Mr Bump. says...
12:57pm Tue 5 Feb 13

tomh2012 wrote:
Mr Bump. wrote:
Is that Freds boy?
Yes.
Seems he's not as good as his dad at this lark then.

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jerymp says...
1:22pm Tue 5 Feb 13

I get a strong impression that prison is quite pleasurable for this person.Is it the three meals a day,the gym,television and computer games and lots of other facilities that would be quite expensive if he wasn`t being `punished` for stealing

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ChunkQC says...
1:26pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Perhaps someone should cut off his fingers. He'd be known as fingerless then.

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ncfcr says...
2:03pm Tue 5 Feb 13

ChunkQC wrote:
Perhaps someone should cut off his fingers. He'd be known as fingerless then.
He'd only steal some fingers from somewhere else. The whole exercise would be futile.

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maud123 says...
3:07pm Tue 5 Feb 13

What a load of twaddle - he's a junky - end of! no-one forced the drugs on him!
chop his fingers off & leave him cold turkey. My life wasnt the best but I didnt use it as an excuse to go off the rails!

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P C Neilson says...
5:08pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Worst theif ever.

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welshmen says...
8:42pm Tue 5 Feb 13

rhinestine wrote:
THE BIRCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Three strikes, hand over to rhinestone....

Report this post »

rhinestine says...
9:03pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Lol!!! My Pleasure!

Report this post »

gordelpus says...
8:50pm Thu 7 Feb 13

sisterlisa wrote:
People are entitled to own opinions however; people are always too quick to judge a person by what negative things they have done with their life. Yes he has a drug problem but prison is not the answer for him. Nobody knows his history and what causes the problem so they automatically think he is a bad person. However he is not a bad person at all he is just somebody who has a drug issues that needs support 100% of the time and not locked up. For the last three months before this incident yes I know only three months but Andrew was doing so well, we started to get our relationship back on track until an incident at scope where they refused to treat him for his drug addiction which left him all over Christmas without medication that’s why he reoffended. Because he said to me with tears in his eyes that he will use drugs again and this is because when he was at scope the lady that was dealing with him dropped medication on the floor which he picked up and put in his pocket. Yes I know he shouldn’t have put it in his pocket but he did. But these people know who they are dealing with so they should only enter the room with the prescription for that person. So the lady came back in the room and said Andrew where’s the tablet I dropped and he handed the tablet back to her. She said to him that she is refusing to treat him anymore so he had to go cold turkey all over Christmas and New Year with no help and no support from them. I was so happy to have my first Christmas with my brother after 15years as he was always locked up. However; it was upsetting to see him over Christmas lunch as you could see he was suffering because they had stopped his medication which I thought was not allowed. So yet again the system has let him down once again. Love you boy. I will always be here for him.
For Gods sake stop blaming others for this persons persistant offensive psychopathic behaviour. He's a dyed in the wool addict and total social fail. Probably does perfectly well in prison for good reason. Should'nt be out and around normal people. He's forfieted the right.

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aevs74 says...
2:16am Fri 8 Feb 13

18 years ago I was kicking this guy out of a well known high street store for trying to steal a pair of levis. It's all he has ever known

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Limestonecowboy says...
8:51pm Sat 9 Feb 13

Katie Re-Registered wrote:
"ARGUS COMMENT: Catalogue of villainy" Flippin' 'eck, Argus: most of us agree that stealing is wrong and that thieves should get their just desserts (even if it was cheesecake in this case) but 'catalogue of villany' makes him sound like Richard III or something lol(!)
Richard III may yet be vindicated.

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