A man who threatened to cut the throat of a shop owner after stealing two steaks has been sentenced. Joe McCabe, of no fixed abode, appeared at Belfast Crown Court where he was handed a 19-month sentence on Friday for the incident in South Belfast. His sentence was divided equally between prison and licence. The court heard at around 4pm on June 10, 2023, McCabe entered the Spar store on the Ormeau Road. The owner recognised McCabe due to previous thefts so he followed him round the store where he overheard McCabe talking to another customer about stealing groceries and selling them outside the store. McCabe then proceeded to lift two steaks which he placed under his jacket and as he made his way to the exit the owner intervened. A tussle between the two men ensued and during this McCabe said to the owner, ‘Get off me or I’ll cut your throat’. The grapple then continued and at this point a Stanley Knife fell out of McCabe’s pocket and he fled the store in the direction of Rugby Avenue. The shaken owner called the PSNI, officers attended and after CCTV was viewed, McCabe was identified and arrested. During an interview, he was shown the CCTV and accepted it was him in the footage but denied it was a robbery. When asked about the knife, McCabe said he carried it for his own protection and it fell from his pocket when he was trying to get away. He subsequently pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and possessing an offensive weapon. Judge Mark Reel said he had considered a number of defence submissions including a Probation Report which set out McCabe’s long-standing misuse of drugs which began with glue-sniffing at the age of eight and which progressed on to heroin. Regarding the offence, McCabe told Probation that he was homeless and hungry and that he was sorry for what he did. Also noted by the Judge was McCabe’s lack of family or community support, and that due to most of his life being spend in and out of custody, he has become “institutionalised”. Branding the offences as “serious”, Judge Reel imposed the 19-month term. For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.