A man has been sent to prison for three years after being found guilty of stalking a woman and a litany of other offences involving shoplifting, thefts and defrauding.

Marvin Lee Woolridge, 43, of Loyal Hill Pass, Devonshire, had denied he stalked a woman physically and through telephone calls, but was found guilty after a Magistrates? Court trial and was given the maximum three-year jail term by Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo.

In addition, Woolridge totted up an additional seven years? worth of jail time for a variety of offences including shop thefts, motorcycle theft, receiving stolen goods and defrauding.

However, all the extra jail time is to be served concurrently with the three-year term handed down for the stalking offence.

For legal reasons the details of the stalking offence cannot be reported.

Woolridge was sentenced to three months? jail for stealing at least seven sirloin steaks from an Arnold?s supermarket in March this year, 12 months in prison for stealing a laptop computer from a shop in Reid Street in June, 12 months in prison for stealing a laptop from the Computer City shop in Hamilton in January, 12 months for stealing a motorcycle belonging to deputy sports editor Dan Rutstein, three months for a defrauding offence involving $200, and a further three months each for two counts of receiving stolen motorcycles.

Mr. Tokunbo also gave Woolridge 12 months in prison for each of three further offences involving the taking of a drill and a hammer drill from the Smooth and Easy company in May and taking a motorcycle worth $2,800 the same day.

As he was sentenced Woolridge apologised for the stalking offence and said he had not intended to cause fear in the woman. He also apologised for a number of the other thefts, to which he had admitted, and said he was not proud of what he had done.

All the jail terms are to run concurrently. On release from jail Woolridge will serve a 12-month probation period with regard to the stalking offence. He will also serve a two-year probation period in relation to the other crimes, which will include submitting to random drug testing, refraining from using drugs and alcohol and complying with drug treatment programmes and assessments.