Marks & Spencer security guard found guilty after killing shopper he suspected of stealing meat with ‘knock-out blow’
AN M&S security guard faces a prison sentence after being found guilty of killing a suspected shoplifter with a “knockout blow”.
Sabeur Trablesi, 44, was convicted of manslaughter and perverting the course of justice over the death of Jason Page at a branch of the retail giant in Reading, Berkshire.
Trablesi apparently believed that homeless Page was stealing meat on March 31 last year and hit him in the head.
Page, 51, fell to the ground and hit his head, suffering injuries that later claimed his life in hospital.
The court heard that when he was arrested, Trablesi tried to claim that Page had fallen over because he was drunk.
However, CCTV footage showed him throwing a strike at the shopper before he fell.
The video had shown Mr Page and an accomplice filling up their bags with meat and Moretti beer before leaving the store.
The security guard, along with M&S store manager Elliot Cripps, chased the pair out of the shop before the fatal blow was landed.
It was also revealed that, during a police interview, Trablesi said: “I was frustrated, I know I shouldn’t have done it.”
Giving evidence, he claimed that Mr Page had threatened to stab him with a needle and that the blow was a slap rather than a punch.
A jury at Reading Crown Court took just four hours to return a guilty verdict against the guard.
He has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on June 12.
The charges could see him jailed for up to eight years.
Judge Amjad Nawaz rejected his pleas to be granted bail in order to “put his affairs in order” before being jailed. He will be held in Bullingdon Prison until his sentencing.
Mr Cripps was cleared of perverting the course of justice.