A WOMAN with a £1,000 drug debt who was arrested for shoplifting in the centre of Swansea has asked a court to send her to straight to prison.
Swansea Magistrates Court heard that Michaela Capewell was unable to work with probation services to tackle her drug use because of her chaotic lifestyle, and wanted to be sent into custody.
Sharon Anderson, prosecuting, said that at 11.40am on Saturday the 24-year-old was stopped by security guards at the Debenhams store in Swansea's Quadrant stealing £131-worth of cosmetics.
She was detained in the shop but after two hours, when no police officer had arrived to deal with her, she was released.
Minutes later she walked into the Savers shop on Oxford Street and stole more cosmetics before returning to the Quadrant.
Miss Anderson said Capewell was seen on CCTV in the centre's Boots shop picking up a jar of skin cream and a bottle of after shave, removing the security tags, and hiding them on her person. She then bought a bottle of shampoo and a carrier bag and headed for the door, where she was stopped by security staff.
Capewell, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft when she appeared before justices today.
The court heard that in her police interview she said she had stolen the items to help pay off her £1,000 drug debt.
The prosecutor said: "She said she had a drugs problem and wanted to go back to prison — and she said she would continue to commit offences until she was sent back."
The court heard Capewell has convictions for 27 previous offences, half of them for theft and dishonesty matters.
Dan Griffiths, for Capewell, said the cosmetics thefts had been "blatant and unsophisticated", and that the defendant had been frank and open with police during her interview.
He said she was unable to engage with probation because of her chaotic lifestyle, and that probation had therefore decided they were unable to help.
The solicitor told the magistrates: "She was one request, and one request only — and that is that you impose a custodial sentence."
For each of the three offences of theft Capewell was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, all the sentences to run consecutively making a total of 24 weeks.
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