He was onto Sinclair’s ruse, watching him walk into the East Albury IGA’s cool room with the bottles then out again with the spirits shoved under his jumper.

The manager kept a close watch on the store’s CCTV screens, then followed Sinclair to his car and took photographs as the Wodonga man sat in the passenger seat and took out the bottles.

This was just one of several incidents of shoplifting that had the case against Sinclair, 28, of Black Street, before Albury Local Court this week.

Magistrate Tony Murray convicted Sinclair on several counts of shoplifting.

He also fined him $2000.

Sinclair, who had pleaded guilty, was also convicted and fined $1300 and disqualified from driving for three years on charges of driving despite never having held a licence.

He has also had warrants issued for his arrest for failing to front court over the charges.

The most serious of Sinclair’s shoplifting incidents took place at Albury’s JB Hi-Fi store in Kiewa Street on February 2.

The court was told in police facts put before Mr Murray that Sinclair entered the store about 1.45pm and immediately began looking “at numerous items” as he headed down most of the aisles.

CCTV captured Sinclair grabbing a box containing a $350 pair of headphones, before discarding the packaging.

He tried to hide the headphones in his hands as he quickly left the store.

A security guard told Sinclair to return the headphones.

But Sinclair just ran off.

Mr Murray ordered that Sinclair pay $350 compensation to JB Hi-Fi.

Sinclair later admitted to police that “yeah, I took the headphones, I don’t know why”.

The IGA thefts involved a $60 bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey on January 27 and two more bottles valued at $120 on March 3.

In the second incident, he verbally abused and threatened the manager with assault when asked to return the bottles before leaving the store.