Edinburgh crime: Lidl security guard broke thief's leg during shoplifting incident

A security guard broke a thief’s leg during a shoplifting incident in an Edinburgh supermarket.

Leandro Da Silva, 28, spotted the man taking stock from the Lidl store in the city’s Southside and tackled him to the ground. Da Silva was seen kneeling on David O’Connor’s body in an attempt to restrain the man in January 2020. The shop employee then grabbed hold of O’Connor’s accomplice and “piled” her on top of him leaving the thief writhing in agony.

Da Silva, of the Capital’s Gilmerton, was in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday where he admitted to a charge of assaulting Mr O’Connor to his severe injury and to restraining him using excessive force. The court was told the security guard had received no training on how to physically deal with shoplifters by his employers before being positioned at the supermarket at Nicolson Street.

Fiscal depute Xander Van Der Scheer said a man and woman entered the shop and “proceeded to steal items” before being spotted by the accused. The pair were named in court as O’Connor and Natasha Robertson and were said to have become “verbally abusive” when the guard approached them, The court was told a “struggle ensued” between the guard and O’Connor and the pair fell to the ground.

The incident happened at Lidl in Nicolson Street. Picture: Google Maps

The fiscal said Da Silva was on top of the shoplifter when Robertson attempted to intervene and the guard grabbed hold of her and dragged her on top of O’Connor where the man suffered his injury. The court heard another staff member put O’Connor in the recovery position while an ambulance was called.

O’Connor was said to have suffered complex fractures to the tibia and fibula in his left leg and also developed deep vein thrombosis. He underwent at least two operations including having screws inserted to his injuries. CCTV proved inconclusive as to how O’Connor came about the injuries.

Solicitor Murray Robertson, defending, said Da Silva was hired by a security firm and given “no training whatsoever” before being deployed at Lidl. Mr Robertson added his client, who is now a stock controller, had resigned following the incident on January 27, 2020 and had no intention of working in the security industry again.

The court was told O’Connor and Robertson admitted to police they were in the store to shoplift. Sheriff Roderick Flinn said Da Silva had been “overzealous” in his duties and fined Da Silva £140.