Geraldine Kilcullen (43) of Enniscrone in Sligo appeared by video link at Strabane Magistrates Court on Thursday.

 

The court was told that Kilcullen and two men entered the store on September 12 this year. CCTV showed the two accomplices purchase a box of beer before leaving the shop. One of them then returned and signalled to Killcullen that the coast was all clear.

 

She then pushed her trolley, which had been filled with drink and groceries worth £608, out the door.

 

She was apprehended by staff and replied, “I’m really sorry for what I’ve done. Were the two men with me not caught?”

 

During enquiries with police though, Kilcullen gave false details, prompting a second charge of obstructing an officer to go with the original allegation of theft.

 

Killcullen, who has 77 previous convictions for theft in the Republic wept in court as she learnt that she was going to prison for the crime.

 

Barrister Joe McCann told the court that his client had only been Enniskillen because she was visiting her seriously ill mother.

 

“Her mother is gravely ill and is not long for this world. Her emotional state is because she wants to get back to her mother,” Mr McCann said. District Judge Nigel Broderick said though that there could only be one outcome, given the amount of money involved.

 

“You have a very poor record in the Republic of Ireland but nothing in this jurisdiction. But to fill a trolley with goods worth £600 and push it out the door, it does warrant prison sentence.”

 

The defendant was jailed for one month in each of the two charges, to run concurrent with each other.