A MUM-of-two described as a ‘messy shopper’ has been convicted and fined €500 for 16 charges of theft from an Enniskeane supermarket over a two-month period.
Zdenka Badlikova (43) of Lissicorrane, Enniskeane Road pleaded guilty to all 16 charges of theft at Bandon District Court last week.
Sgt Trish O’Sullivan told Judge Mark O’Connell that the 16 theft charges occurred at O’Donovan’s Centra in Enniskeane over a two-month period from February 16th to May 5th of this year.
‘The manager of the store contacted gardaí about a woman known to her who had taken groceries from the store on 16 different times without paying for them,’ said Sgt O’Sullivan. ‘She would put some grocery items in her basket and pay for them at the till while she also put items in her bag without paying for them. All the incidents were captured on CCTV and the total value of goods stolen was €418.’
The court heard that none of the items were recovered and that the defendant has no previous convictions.
Defence solicitor Plunkett Taaffe said his client is originally from Slovakia but has been living here in Ireland since 2009.
‘She works as a volunteer in an animal sanctuary and earns below the minimum wage. When shopping she would be asked by others to get items for them,’ said Mr Taaffe. ‘She was a messy shopper and it went out of control. She does have €418 in court here to reimburse the shop. She also accepts that she is no longer welcome in the shop.’ Mr Taaffe added that she apologises for her ‘messy shopping’.
Judge Mark O’Connell was told that she has not come to garda attention before or since the incidents.
He convicted and fined her €500 in respect of one of the 16 charges and took into consideration the remainder of the charges. ‘That’s a very light penalty and this court will come down heavier next time if she resumes her offending,’ said the judge.
