A Dungannon woman who used a foil-lined bag to evade security when stealing clothes has avoided prison.
Nancy McDonagh (25), of Lambfield Drive, was sentenced to seven months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay total compensation of £718.86 to three high street clothing outlets.
She was sentenced before Armagh Magistrates’ Court, sitting at Newry Courthouse on Tuesday, on three charges of theft, having been convicted of the offences the week prior.
The court was told that three thefts had been reported to police on November 8 last year.
The first incident took place at 4.30pm, when the defendant entered a Sports Direct store in Armagh with another person.
Here, they placed a number of items of clothing to the value of £136.96 into a red and white bag, before leaving the store and making no attempt to pay.
It was reported the female defendant distracted a staff member, while the male left the store with the items.
No security tags were found and the alarm did not sound, indicating the defendants were using a foil-lined bag. CCTV was recorded and they were identified.
At 5.45pm, the defendants entered Adidas at the Boulevard in Banbridge, before placing a number of clothing items into a bag.
The items were valued at £357 and the defendants left the store without attempting to pay.
At 5.55pm, they entered the Nike store at the Boulevard and emptied two shoeboxes of trainers, valued at £224.90.
On hearing the facts and that the defendant had a criminal record, District Judge Rafferty described McDonagh as a “professional thief”, noting she attended the stores with a special bag to attempt to frustrate security systems.
Defence barrister, Seamus Lannon, stated his client, who is from a Traveller background, had served a prison sentence for a similar matter.
In her defence, he stated she had no matters pending, except for one which “significantly pre-dated” the offence before the court.
Describing someone who came from a difficult background and was “led down a path” by others, he added she had “now stabilised” in her life.
As well as imposing the suspended sentence, the Judge ordered that compensation be paid to each of the retailers affected.
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