Powder thief fronts court

BABY FORMULA BANDIT

ANOTHER Geelong baby formula bandit has been caught pilfering tins of the powdered milk from shops in the region.

Corio’s Cheryl Millar was released from custody on yesterday after being “scared straight” during a 22-day stint for a string of recent thefts.

In total, Millar stole — or tried to steal — more than 50 tins with a combined retail value of almost $2000.

But Geelong Magistrates’ Court heard the 32-year-old made much less than that onselling some, while police also recovered a number of tins.

Powdered baby formula is in high demand on the black market, with a number of crooks appearing in Geelong Magistrates’ Court this year accused of stealing tins to feed their drug habits.

Millar’s lawyer, Bill Sizeland, said his client’s motive was “purely financial” and not drug-related, saying she stole to cover living expenses and had been clean for six months.

But police prosecutor Senior Constable Scott Bell said the crimes were calculated.

“This offending is not stealing a loaf of bread to feed your starving children. It’s theft for profit, and there’s a commercial element to it,” SenConstable Bell said.

“It’s the reason we all pay more for our groceries.”

The court heard Millar stole three tins of formula and a four-pack of doughnuts from Woolworths in Ocean Grove on April 28, and then hit the supermarket’s outlet in Curlewis on each of the next two days, taking four cans each time.

She returned to the Curlewis store twice in May, stealing nine more containers, and also hit up a pharmacy and supermarkets in Torquay.

On May 21, police pulled her over on La Trobe Tce, in Geelong, finding 22 cans in her car and other stolen property, including packages of uncooked meat.

But she was not taken into custody until earlier this month after trying to steal seven tins of formula from a shopping centre in Hoppers Crossing.

The court heard most of the woman’s offences had been captured on store security cameras, some within days of her being sentenced for other thefts.

“Her offending has become somewhat habitual and unrestrained,” Mr Sizeland said.

“According to her she’s been scared straight (by her time in jail).”

Magistrate John Lesser sentenced Millar on a number of theft-related charges yesterday, ruling her time spent in custody should be followed by a community corrections order.

The woman was also ordered to pay back some of the stores she stole from.