Prolific shop thief jailed after latest Crawley offences

Wednesday, 29 October 2025 07:00

A prolific shoplifter has been jailed for 9months for a string of thefts across Crawley and Horsham.

Luke Wolf-England, who is 38 and of no fixed address, targeted several stores between August and October.

He stole electrical items such as speakers and a turntable from HMV in Crawley, chocolate and meat from Tesco Express in Horsham, and multiple cans of Red Bull drinks from the Co-op in Langley Green.

The offences were committed after he was issued with a community order by the courts in August after he admitted 38 offences across West Sussex.

At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on 23 October, Wolf-England, 31, of no fixed address, admitted a further 11 shop theft offences.

He was jailed for nine months.

The court was told how he entered stores and stole items, dating from 24 August, just nine days after being sentenced to complete drug rehabilitation treatment in court.

His thefts continued in September and into October, where he was identified on CCTV across multiple retailers, and he was arrested as a priority to tackle business crime.

Crawley District Commander Chief Inspector Steven Turner said: “Wolf-England has continued to be a prolific shoplifter in our town centres.

“We understand the concerns that shoplifting has for both retailers and the public, and we work in partnership to trace offenders and gather evidence to prosecute them.

“This case shows our determination to catch prolific offenders, and he had no choice but to plead guilty in court.

“I’m pleased that a prolific offender is now serving a custodial sentence."

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