SERIAL SHOP THIEF SPARED JAIL
WOMAN SPARED JAIL AFTER BEING CAUGHT STEALING HIGH-END GOODS FROM TRAFFORD CENTRE
A WOMAN who nicked thousands of pounds-worth of goods from Trafford Centre shops has walked free after claiming she stole to fund her escape from her drug-addict ex-boyfriend.
Lauren Andrews, 34, looted perfumes worth £2,360 from Abercrombie and Fitch and leggings and T-shirts worth £1,000 from Victoria’s Secret during thieving sprees at the shopping mall.
Police discovered she had a 10-year history of shoplifting and had only been given a suspended prison sentence a month earlier after stealing £8,000-worth of stock from The White Company, plus a handbag costing £1,480 from Burberry.
At Manchester magistrates court, Andrews, from Newton Heath, said she had been offered new accommodation but would lose it if she went to prison – and claimed she was unlikely to re-offend as she was ‘feeling emotionally better.’
The court heard the thefts happened in March and June.
Andrews targeted stores at the Trafford Centre with an unknown man. The court heard she was not apprehended at the time. It was not revealed how police became aware of her offending.
The court heard Andrews had 26 previous offences on her record, including 15 for theft dating back to 2009. In May, she was given an 18-week sentence, suspended for 12 months, after a Christmas shoplifting spree in Manchester city centre.
A report by a probation officer read: “She had accepted full responsibility for her behaviour. In March this year she was staying at a hotel to get away from her partner and this cost £50 per night. This offence was committed in part to fund her hotel stays. There was regular use of cocaine when in the company of her partner and they would shoplift to fund their habit.
“It does form an established pattern for her actions. I’m aware that with her partner there has likely been a level of prior influence and possible coercion. Cocaine does appear to have been a coping mechanism for trauma in her life. Her mother died by suicide. While it is of some concern that she committed another offence in June, it is relatively early into the suspended sentence.
“She has applied for her own accommodation and is due to sign for a new property next week, this is an excellent opportunity for a fresh start. Her presentation has vastly improved since distancing herself from her ex-partner and engaging with mental health services.”
Karl Benson, defending, said: “She is a potential success story for a problem-solving programme, but if she goes to custody today, she will lose the new house that she is due to move into.”
Sentencing Andrews to 20-weeks custody, suspended for a year, magistrates said: “The bench feels it would be unjust to activate the suspended sentence when we have heard from probation how well you are doing and how much progress has been made.” Andrews was ordered to pay compensation of £1,180 to Abercrombie and Fitch and £500 to Victoria’s Secret.