By Latrishka Thomas
A 38-year-old woman who stole from the same grocery store twice was told that if she shoplifted again within a year, she will be imprisoned.
Anica Muhammad admitted to larceny of around $2,400 worth of goods from a shop on St John’s Street on May 23, and another batch of goods worth around $400 on another day.
On May 23, a sales clerk working in the shop observed the defendant removing items from the store’s shelves and placing them in her bag.
The sales person immediately contacted the owner of the store who told her to alert the police.
When the complainant arrived at his establishment, he met the defendant and the police officers who informed him of what had transpired and showed him the items with which Muhammad was caught red-handed.
The camera footage in the store was reviewed and Muhammad was taken into custody.
The next day, a search warrant was executed at her home and a number of stolen goods from the same store were found there.
Muhammad was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of larceny.
The Bishopgate Street resident appeared in the St John’s Magistrate’s Court yesterday and, after pleading guilty to the crime, she was asked why she committed the acts.
“I’m currently unemployed. I was looking to make ends meet. It’s not something I usually do,” the woman told the court.
After the magistrate threatened to jail her since she wouldn’t have the means to pay a fine, the woman indicated that she sells used clothes.
It was later revealed that the woman has a four-year-old daughter (who currently lives with the defendant’s mother), and she had recently been kicked out of her home.
“It seems like your life is upside down,” the magistrate stated.
She therefore decided to place the defendant on probation for a year.
Should she commit a similar offence within that time, she will be sentenced to Her Majesty’s Prison for one year.