A man was given a break by a magistrate after he said he stole from a hardware store to pay for medication.

Lairy Hassell, 58, pleaded guilty yesterday to the theft of $207 worth of goods from Masters Home Centre.

Hassell told the court that he suffered from life-threatening seizures and needed to take prescription drugs.

He added that he had lost his job not long before the incident and feared for his health.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo sentenced Hassell to a six-month conditional discharge and told him that a conviction would not be recorded if he stayed out of trouble.

Magistrates’ Court earlier heard that Hassell, from Pembroke, went to the Dundonald Street, Hamilton, store and put several items into a brown paper bag and left without paying.

Staff chased after Hassell as he ran into the nearby Bull’s Head car park.

Royal Bermuda Regiment soldiers stationed at the car park’s Covid-19 test centre helped detain him until police arrived and arrested Hassell.

The paper bag was found to have a flashlight, two sets of Christmas lights, an alarm clock and a home light control system inside.

All the goods were returned to the store.

The incident happened on November 4 last year.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.