A man who stole more than £2,000 worth of tobacco before punching a shopkeeper as he fled the scene has been jailed for nine months. 

Steven Perrio, aged 34 and of Bevis Walk in Bury St Edmunds, was jailed on Wednesday, January 10, at Suffolk Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to burglary, common assault and disobeying a court order.

On Wednesday, December 13, at just before 4.30am, Perrio smashed a window at Eastgate Stores in Eastgate Street and entered the shop.

He stole over £2,000 worth of tobacco products from inside.

The break-in triggered the alarm system and the shopkeeper arrived at the scene to investigate, encountering Perrio who was still inside.

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Perrio punched and knocked the shopkeeper to the floor and then fled the scene.

Police were called and, following initial enquiries, Perrio was quickly identified as a suspect.

Officers found him later that same morning and arrested him, with officers finding a bag within the flat containing pouches of tobacco.

Perrio was released on bail pending further enquiries, but was rearrested less than a month later on Tuesday, January 9 after the results from forensic swab tests taken at the scene of the break-in found his DNA present.

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He was then charged and remanded to appear before Suffolk Magistrates’ Court the next day.

Perrio received two six-month prison sentences for the burglary and assault offences, which will run concurrently, and was ordered to pay £250 in compensation to the victim and £332 in costs and other charges.

He was also sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for breaching a suspended sentence.

Sergeant Joe Nettleton, of the Bury St Edmunds Community Policing Team, said: "We will not tolerate shopkeepers and other business owners being targeted by criminals and I hope the swift action taken by our officers in this case demonstrates this.

"Crimes against businesses are not victimless – not only are there financial implications of lost stock and the damage caused to premises – but as shown in this case, the people who work there can come to harm too."