Published date: 02 December 2016 |
A WOMAN abused the trust of an animalrescue charity she had worked for to steal more than £250.
Laura Anne Roberts, of Poyser Street, Wrexham, admitted stealing from the town’s Capricorn Rescue store on Chester Street on November 8.
She took £285 from the charity where she had worked the previous summer through a Job Centre placement.
At the time of the theft she was homeless and used her knowledge of the security code to enter the premises and take the money so she could escape the cold and book a hotel for the night
Roberts, 31, was given a 12 month community order when she appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court.
District judge Gwyn Jones said: “This was a mean offence where you abused the trust placed in you by going to premises where people provide items with a view to sell to assist others.
“You broke that trust and potentially threw suspicion on other individuals in stealing.
“No doubt that charity was out of pocket.
Rhian Jackson, prosecuting, said the centre’s whole takings for that Friday were taken.
She said shop manager Robert Stewart had gone to collect the takings but noticed a plastic box, next to the till where a bag of money was kept, was missing.
Ms Jackson said: “He checked with staff and later watched CCTV which showed a female entering the store and going to the desk there.
“She had worked at the shop on a job centre placement in summer 2015, for three-and-a-half weeks and was recognised instantly.
“In interview with the police she said she was homeless, freezing, and tried the code for the shop. She knew the takings were kept in a box.
“She tried to get a hotel for the night but did not have ID so paid friends to sleep on a sofa.”
Justine McVitie, defending, referred to a probation service report in which Roberts expressed her remorse.
Andrew Connah, from the probation service, said: “She is deeply ashamed, says she wakes up every morning and hates herself for what she has done.
“She wishes she could turn the clock back.”
Mr Connah said Roberts had two children in the care of her mother and had alcohol and health problems. She now had accommodation and was trying to turn her life around.
Ms McVitie added: “She was homeless and incredibly cold. She had lost her children, had lost her home, and could not get a hotel because she had no ID.
“She is genuinely upset, embarrassed and ashamed.”
As well as the community order, Roberts will have to pay back the £285 she stole, as well as court costs of £85 and an £85 victim surcharge.
http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/169805/woman-working-at-wrexham-animal-rescue-charity-stole-takings-from-store.aspx
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