A Marks and Spencer security guard is accused of killing Jason Page, a homeless man, after chasing and punching him.
Reading Crown Court heard on 26 April that Sabeur Trabelsi, a security guard at a Marks and Spencer store, chased Jason Page out of the store over suspicion he had stolen £300 worth of meat.
He punched the homeless man in the head and then lied to police about what happened.
Jason Page fell to the floor after he was hit and later died in hospital from his injuries.
The M&S store’s former manager, Elliot Cripps, is charged with perverting the course of justice after calling 999 when the incident happened and saying that Mr Page fell to the ground and hit his head because he was drunk.
The 44-year-old defendant took to the witness box at Reading Crown Court where he admitted he did not tell investigating police about the punch he landed on Mr Page because “he was scared.”
The court was previously shown CCTV footage of Mr Page and an accomplice walking into the shop in Reading, Berkshire, on March 31, 2021 and “brazenly” stealing an entire shopping bag full of meat from the shelf along with bottles of beer.
The duo made a speedy getaway from the shop and, in the video, a member of staff was seen pointing Trabelsi in the direction they had run off.
Trabelsi told the jury that he caught up with both men and heard Mr Page shout: “He is by himself, he is not going to do nothing, shank him, shank him.”
“I thought I’m going to get stabbed”
Trabelsi told the jury that Mr Page, who was still carrying the bag of meat, put his hands into his waistband as if to pull something out and then waved his arms.
At this point, store manager Cripps had caught up with them and was running behind Trabelsi who was chasing Mr Page.
Trabelsi said his intention was “to retrieve the goods. To get the bag and go back to work.”
After catching up with Mr Page and still carrying the retrieved pack of beer under one of his arms, he used the other arm to drag Mr Page to the ground.
Trabelsi told jurors: “All I heard from him was ‘let go of me’ and swearing using words like c***s. He did not like the way he was put down.
“He called us a lot of names and mentioned a needle. He said ‘I will stab you, I will stab you’, and that’s when he leaned forward.
“In my head I thought I’m going to get stabbed I wanted to move him away and scare him. I kept saying to him go home.”
The defendant said he then “reacted so quickly” and “slapped him in the face.”
“I was scared”
He told the court: “It was so fast, everything happened in a couple of seconds.”
The prosecution has previously described the punch as a “knockout blow”, which caused Mr Page to fall backwards and crash onto the pavement.
CCTV showed Mr Page laying motionless on the ground as Trabelsi and Cripps walked away back to the M&S shop. After a couple of seconds, they went back to check on him.
Trabelsi said he put Mr Page, who was homeless in Reading, into the recovery position while Cripps dialled 999.
The pair are accused of lying to the phone operator about what happened before doubling down on their story when asked by police officers.
Ms Davey asked him: “We know you didn’t volunteer the information that he had been slapped…”
Trabelsi, from Kings Road, Reading, replied: “I was scared seeing someone bleeding like that. I was shocked.”
The story sparked online discussions around policing
As the trial continues, the incident sparked an online discussion among security professionals when Chris Phillips, Managing Director of the International Protect and Prepare Security Office (IPPSO) and a former police officer, shared the news story on LinkedIn, commenting that “the issue of organised full-time shoplifters plaguing our high streets and towns”:
“Basically, the police have withdrawn completely, leaving shops to cope for themselves.
“The void left by a shrunken Police Force has been filled by criminals eager to fill their pockets with anything of value. Police impotence has resulted in Stores not bothering to report offences.
“Whatever the rights & wrongs of this case, who would be a security guard in a shop being swarmed by thieves when you can’t expect any support from law enforcement?”
Calling for police assistance just to wait for 2 hours
Scott Yeoman, Head of Security for Lawmens, replied: “Starting out in retail security so many years ago I made a name for myself as being a ‘thief taker’, this was by the local police in the policing team linked to the town centre.
“I dread to think how things could have been so different if I had my time again, calling for police assistance and being told the value isn’t high enough or there is a 2 hour wait.
“This is having such a detrimental impact not just on profit margins but on a security officers moral, why bother putting yourself at risk to be told to release people.”
Police have priorities
Dan Sanford, founder of InteraXial, a business consultancy firm, replied to Chris Phillips’ comment: “In my view it’s unfair to label this as Police impotence.
“In my experience in Central London, if local security has apprehended a suspect or can offer substantial evidence that will lead to an arrest, Police WILL respond and will prosecute.
“But we have to accept that there will be priorities for them and this is seen as low-level crime.”
This degree of violence highlights frustration
Another security professional, Simon Cham, Security Advisor at Warrior Doors, said: “Policing is a ‘last resort” (when all else has failed), to rely on a last resort so frequently must surely suggest a new look at how things are done.
“I would rather see a true problem-solving approach to this issue, rather than a scapegoating or repeating what isn’t working.
“The violence in this news item highlights the frustration and total lack of grip we all have on a well-known problem, it’s not just ‘the police response’ which is at fault.”
(Image: Reading Crown Court, Wikimedia Commons)
