A shoplifter loaded a trolley with £444 champagne and wine - then wheeled it out of Asda without paying.
But Cristian Miron was caught when he tried the same approach with a load of vodka worth £448, Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard.
On this occasion, he got past the self-service tills but was detained outside the Arnold branch.
The court heard that the champagne and wine were loaded in a car parked outside. This was never traced.
Ghazala Mumtaz, prosecuting, said: "The vodka is recovered. The champagne and wine is not."
Miron, 22, admitted two offences of theft on Saturday. He was given a one-year conditional discharge but must pay £444 compensation.
He appeared on the court list as having no fixed address but the three JPs heard that he lives in London with his partner and four-year-old daughter, although his address was given in court as no fixed address. He had never been in trouble before.
Vicky Clarson, mitigating, told magistrates that Miron usually works on London building sites.
She said: "He found himself without work and was promised £100 by a male he met in London.
"He was not given full details of what he was going to do and travelled in a car with a male.
"What he was told what to do was to load trollies with alcohol. It was not sophisticated in the sense that the bottles were placed in packets in the trolley."
Miss Clarson told the court that Miron was arrested at Asda and the car had gone.
She added: "Since then he has spent three days essentially nights in custody which has caused him significant trauma.
"That is probably enough deterrent which highlights what could happen if he is putting himself in this position again.
"He was desperate for money as his partner is not working yet. She is training to be a nail technician and obviously he needed food for his family."
Presiding magistrate Simon Ashcroft told Miron: "This is your first offence.
You were very naïve and we believe there was a level of coercion."
Miron was ordered to pay £444 for the champagne and wine. He must also pay a government surcharge of £21.
At the end of the hearing, Miron said: "I am going to pay as much as I can. I am very sorry, I will not be in front of you again."
