The Enniskillen Courthouse
A 21-year-old woman accused of going on a shop-lifting spree has been slapped with a suspended prison sentence, Fermanagh Court has heard.
Marie Doran admitted to five counts of theft and one of burglary which amounted to over £400 worth of clothing items, including hair accessories from a charity shop.
The majority of recovered items were so badly damaged they were not fit for re-sale and Doran, of Stocking Lane in Dublin, was ordered to pay £99.50 in restitution.
A prosecutor told the court that on May 15 police were called to Next clothing store because staff spotted two women in the store removing tags from children’s clothing.
The court was told that the two women left the shop but realised they were being watched so they went towards the front doors of Erneside after discarding a beige handbag. Another staff member saw the two women get into a car outside the shopping centre and noted the car details.
The abandoned bag was searched and six items of clothing was found inside to the value of £57.50 but they were all damaged by the tags and were not fit for re-sale.
A short time later police spotted a Vauxhall which was registered to Doran’s co-accused. The pair were spotted a short distance away and police saw them throwing away their jackets before moving towards Henry Street
The two women were stopped and taken back to their vehicle.
Police officers searched the car and removed a number of items they believed to have been stolen.
The two women were taken to Enniskillen Police Station where they were questioned over the thefts and a number of stores were identified from the clothing tags.
The stolen clothing items included £99.50 worth of children’s clothing from Next, almost £252 worth from DV8, hair accessories from the British Heart Foundation worth £3.74, earrings worth £11 from Quiz, £43 from Dorothy Perkins as well as entering a rear store room in DV8 and stealing a pair of Converse shoes.
The court was told that Doran’s co-accused received a suspended sentence for her part which led District Judge Nigel Broderick to say that he didn’t distinguish the difference between them.
Judge Broderick added: “It appears on the face of it that there was a number of shops stolen from.”
Doran was given a six months suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay £99.50 in restitution.
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