A man has been recalled to prison after Max Couthlan-Lawlar’s Fenchurch Street theft of alcoholic drinks on consecutive days was captured on CCTV and led to his arrest, a guilty plea and a fine.
City of London Police released CCTV footage on 17 August showing Couthlan-Lawlar, 26, of no fixed abode, taking around £72 worth of Buzzball drinks from a shop’s fridge on Fenchurch Street in the City of London.
Staff recognition leads to arrest on second visit
Couthlan-Lawlar returned to the same shop the following day. Staff recognised him and alerted police officers, who located him and made an arrest. The swift identification by shop workers proved central to bringing the case to a conclusion within 24 hours of the second offence.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to theft. A court imposed a fine, and Couthlan-Lawlar has since been recalled to prison. The recall indicates he was already serving a sentence or subject to a licence at the time of the offences, meaning the new conviction triggered a return to custody rather than the fine alone determining his fate.
Max Couthlan-Lawlar Fenchurch Street theft caught on camera
The footage released by City of London Police shows the first visit to the shop, with Couthlan-Lawlar removing the drinks from a refrigerated unit. The decision to publish the CCTV came on 17 August, after the legal proceedings had concluded.
The Fenchurch Street theft unfolded across two consecutive days in the City of London. On the first occasion, the items were taken without immediate intervention. It was only on the second visit, when staff acted quickly to alert officers on patrol, that Couthlan-Lawlar was detained.
City of London Police did not detail in the released material where officers located him following the alert, but the arrest was made shortly after staff raised the alarm. The case moved swiftly from arrest to guilty plea.
Couthlan-Lawlar’s recall to prison means he will serve further time in custody. Under licence conditions in England and Wales, a person released from prison can be returned if they commit a new offence or breach the terms of their release. A fine handed down by a court does not prevent a recall being enacted separately by the relevant authorities.
The release of CCTV footage by City of London Police after the case concluded is consistent with forces publishing material to demonstrate outcomes and deter further offending in commercial areas. Fenchurch Street sits within the Square Mile, a district policed solely by City of London Police rather than the Metropolitan Police.
The Max Couthlan-Lawlar Fenchurch Street theft case centred on drinks valued at around £72, but the consequence for Couthlan-Lawlar extends well beyond the fine imposed at court, with his recall to prison the operative outcome of the two-day series of offences.
