A man accused of stealing items of jewellery worth thousands of pounds has appeared in court more than a decade after thefts from shops across Norfolk.
Nicolae Niculescu, 37, appeared via video link from HMP Wormwood Scrubs charged with thefts from a string of jewellers in 2011.
Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told he was thought to have been using an alias while wanted by police in Norfolk but had eventually been arrested earlier this month in the town centre of Reading in Berkshire.
The Romanian national, of Leagrave Road, Luton, Bedfordshire, has pleaded not guilty to four separate offences of shop theft.
The alleged offences are that he was involved in targeting small independent jewellers and stealing high-value items after being shown them by sales assistants.
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A spate of thefts were reported from jewellers over a two-week period between September 30 and October 15 2011.
Items stolen included a gold bracelet worth £1,000 stolen from LJ Chapman in Diss and a gold belcher and T-bar worth £1,100 from Michaels Jewellers in Harleston.
Meanwhile, a 9-carat 18 inch gold necklace worth £720 was stolen from FJ Zelley on St Giles in Norwich; and a 9-carat gold bracelet and belcher worth £3,000 from Peter Conoley in Watton.
Niculescu, who spoke only to confirm his name and age, is accused of having visited the shops at the time of the thefts.
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Marie-Armance Renaud, his solicitor, said he disputed prosecution accounts and planned to dispute the descriptions given by witnesses at his trial.
“He says it wasn’t him,” she said.
He also plans to instruct a fingerprint expert to challenge forensic evidence from the shops, she added.
Niculescu had been out of the UK between 2016 and 2022, she told the court.
He will stand trial at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court on October 14.
Deputy District Judge Lisa Towell granted him bail on condition that he lives in Luton under an electronically monitored curfew and does not apply for any international travel documents.
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