Shoplifter caught red-handed and red-eyed after eating haul of Scotch Bonnet chillies

A shoplifter was caught red-handed and red-eyed when he discovered his stolen goods were much hotter than he expected. Marcus Banwell made the mistake of eating his haul of Scotch Bonnet chilli peppers from Singh Stores in St Paul's, Bristol, before making his escape. Bristol magistrates heard that within a matter of seconds the 39-year-old was doubled over, coughing and being sick as the fiery food took effect.

The owner of the shop was alerted to the commotion on August 4 and followed Banwell outside, where he was arrested by police a short while later. The heat of a chilli pepper is measured using the Scoville scale. The Scotch Bonnet, also known as Boabs Bonnet or Caribbean red pepper, is named for its resemblance to a Tam o'Shanter hat. Most Scotch Bonnets have a heat rating of 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville units. This compares to the rating of most jalapeño peppers, which is 2,500 to 8,000.



Prosecutor May Li said when officers searched Banwell they found another four chilli peppers in his pocket, a stolen milkshake and fruit juice, and a clarinet stashed in his waistband, which was missing from a music shop. Police also found paper wraps containing a small amount of crack cocaine and a small amount of heroin. Mitigating, Emily Evans said her client had serious issues with drugs and alcohol that he wanted to address. She said since he had been remanded in custody he had been to a number of classes and courses designed to address addiction.

Ms Evans said Banwell had not been receiving his benefits since March and had stolen food and drink to feed himself, not for any financial gain. Presiding magistrate Rachel Simmons told him: "You have continued to offend while subject to your licence and other court orders, so we really do not have any other option but to make a further custodial sentence." The magistrates imposed a total of six weeks' custody for the new offences, to run consecutively with an eight-week sentence for breaching the terms of his licence, making a total of 14 weeks.