By Latrishka Thomas
A 21-year-old woman who swindled supermarket patrons of their loyalty points has been fined $644.95 — the total value of the reward points she had stolen.
On March 28 2020 at around 12pm, Christin Prevost — who worked as a cashier at the Epicurean Fine Foods & Pharmacy on Friars Hill Road — was observed by security personnel monitoring the surveillance cameras, taking monies from the cash register and put it in her pocket.
The security staff reported the matter to the supervisor on duty and showed her the footage.
The defendant was then stopped from cashing and shown the footage. She said the money was tips that were left for her by costumers.
A technician who further investigated the matter discovered that Prevost was actually using customers’ rewards points for her benefit by using their points to pay for their goods and pocketing the cash they gave her.
The points, totalling 64,495, were valued at $644.95.
The matter was reported to the police and the Cassada Gardens woman was later arrested and charged with larceny.
She pleaded guilty to the charge when she appeared before Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh, yesterday, and when asked to provide an explanation, she responded that “at the time I wasn’t conscious of my actions”.
Prevost, who appeared to be unrepresented by legal counsel, added that she knew her actions were wrong, but she does not know why she did it.
Attorney Sherfield Bowen then offered to mitigate on the defendant’s behalf and asked the magistrate for mercy since it was Prevost’s first offence and she pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
He also said that “having to acknowledge something so embarrassing … should be a deterrent”.
The woman has to pay the fine by October 2 or she will have to spend six months in jail.
- Meanwhile, a woman also appeared before Magistrate Walsh on charges of larceny and unlawful wounding for an incident that occurred at a wholesale store on Market Street. She was fined $500.
Kathelyn Abel admitted to stealing a scarf from the store and then biting a worker in a scuffle.
She told the Chief Magistrate that she put the scarf around her neck and was perusing the store and forgot to take it off before she left.
“I didn’t even want the scarf,” she remarked.
She explained that one of her friends made her aware of what she had done and took the scarf from her and threw it away without her knowledge.
Abel then returned to the store to return the scarf but her friend then informed her that she had already thrown it away.
However, the complainant stopped her before she could walk away and asked about the item.
He locked her in the store while he called the police but a fight ensued where she bit the defendant, Abel told the court.
Yesterday, however, she apologised to the court and the complainant for her actions.
The woman was reprimanded for stealing the scarf but was ordered to compensate the victim $500 for wounding him.
Should she fail to pay the fine, she will be jailed for six months.