Magistrate expresses concern about circumstances
Theft of frivolous items from a supermarket raised concerns when Magistrate Nova Hall sentenced Sheyla Torres this week.
Torres, 18, pleaded guilty in September to the theft from Foster’s Food Fair Republix in West Bay on 8 June. The magistrate ordered a social inquiry report at that time and relied on it this week when she decided to place Torres on probation for one year.
Crown Counsel Marilyn Brandt said a security officer observed Torres picking up items in aisle 8 and putting them in the shopping cart near her handbag. She continued shopping in other areas of the store and placing items in the cart. She then went to the cashier section to check out. The security officer realised that the items she had put in her cart from aisle 8 were not on the checkout counter.
After Torres finished paying for groceries and walked toward the exit, she was followed and a search of her handbag was requested. She agreed and the search revealed a number of beauty aids: eyebrow pencil, mascara, bobby pins, nail polish, lipstick and lip gloss to a total value of $42.59.
Torres agreed with store personnel that she had not paid for the items. Asked why she took them, she said she didn’t have enough money to pay for them, Ms Brandt told the court.
In court, after Torres declined to say anything on her own behalf, the magistrate observed, “It was an opportunistic offence for such frivolous items.”
She said she did not expect this sort of offence from someone who had no previous problems with the law, who worked and who had savings. She said if Torres did not have enough money with her at the moment, she did have a savings account, so she could have obtained money and then gone back for the items. “That worries me,” she told the defendant.
The only mitigation shown by the report was Torres’ low score as a person with a risk of re-offending. It was that assessment that carried the greatest weight for her, the magistrate indicated. She agreed with the recommendation of the officer preparing the report — that Torres be placed on probation for one year and attend individual counselling as required.
The magistrate emphasised that this was not a case for which she was minded not to record a conviction. However, the conviction should come off her record fairly shortly, Torres was told.
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