Shoplifting spree on 30 valium tabs

May 14 2007 Les Stewart

A BUNGLING shoplifter, spaced out on valium, denied any knowledge of a £4 top when she was stopped as she left a Perth city centre shop.

But the sharp-eyed assistant could see that former Crieff woman Joanne Mayor was wearing it below her other clothing.

Mayor’s description was circulated and she was later picked up on CCTV. And when she was arrested she was found in possession of a handbag she had stolen from another local shop.

Mayor (24), of Greyfriars Hostel, Princes Street, Perth, was jailed for five months when she appeared for sentence at the Sheriff Court on Wednesday on the two theft charges.

Imposing the jail term, Sheriff Robert McCreadie said: “This is the worst record I have ever seen for someone aged 24 in the three years I have been in this court.

“In six years you have managed to amass 12 pages of previous convictions, principally for shoplifting, fraud and breach of the peace.”

He noted that probation and community service had both been tried but both had been breached.

“I am not persuaded on balance, given all the different factors, that anything other than a custodial disposal is appropriate.”

And the Sheriff told her nothing would change until she took the decision to stop offending and stop the chemical abuse which was damaging not only her life but that of her family members as well.

Sentence had been deferred to allow social inquiry, community service and restriction of liberty order reports to be prepared.

She admitted stealing the top from D2 Jeans, St John’s Centre, on April 16 – and then taking a leather handbag, valued at almost £50, from Proudfoots, South Street, later the same day.

A not guilty plea to helping herself to a bottle of whisky from Oddbins, also in South Street, was accepted by the prosecution.

Depute fiscal Vicki Bell said that the accused entered the jeans shop about 10am and was observed by staff who thought she was under the influence of either drink or drugs.

She selected a pair of jeans and a top from a display and made her way to the changing rooms. When she returned, she handed back the jeans but when asked about the top, she implied she knew nothing about it.

“But the assistant was able to see she was wearing it below her own clothing,” added Ms Bell. “She then left the store but her description was circulated.”

Around half-an-hour later she went into Proudfoots, where the member of staff was dealing with another customer. When she had finished serving that person, the accused approached the counter and placed carrier bags on the ground.

A leather jacket was lying beside the bags and Mayor apologised for dropping it before leaving the shop.

The assistant wasn’t aware that the accused had taken anything and it only became apparent during the course of the day that a leather handbag was unaccounted for.

When Mayor was arrested after being spotted on CCTV, police recovered the £49.95 handbag from her. She was also still wearing the top she had stolen earlier.

A solicitor for the accused said she now found herself living in the Greyfriars Hostel, alongside other drug abusers, and found it “impossible” to get away from illegal substances while there.

She had taken an overdose of valium that morning – in the region of 30 or so blue valium – and started walking around Perth.

The lawyer insisted that Mayor realised she couldn’t go on like that and had been warned that she would kill herself if she didn’t stop taking illicit substances.

She was now seeking help and he urged the Sheriff to consider probation and putting her on a “fairly short leash.”