A teenager who admitted breaching a conditional discharge by stealing an i-phone in Kingston has been sent to a young offenders' institution.
Martin Gibbons, 18, of Langdon Park, Teddington, stole the phone, worth £280, from Carphone Warehouse on January 31 and had to be chased by the manager.
Gibbons had received a 12-month conditional discharge from Kingston magistrates three weeks earlier on January 8 for stealing a satellite navigation system.
He pleaded guilty to theft and breaching the conditional discharge at Kingston Magistrates' Court on February 1.
Mr Kadri, defending, said: "Mr Gibbons had left his family home last summer and started committing offences.
"He was trying to sort out his finances and this was a stupid act to try and sell the phone on and make a few pounds."
Magistrate John Batt sentenced Gibbons to one month detention in a young offenders institution yesterday.
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