Perfume thief ordered to pay compensation

Thursday 03 May 2018

A man who stole seven bottles of Hugo Boss perfume from De Gruchy to fund a drug habit, has been ordered to pay over £300 back to the store in compensation.

Michael Dos Santos Moreira (40) admitted stealing the perfume from the department store on Kings Street at around 18:05 on 7 December 2017, when he appeared in the Magistrate’s Court this week.

The Court heard that the department manager working on the shop floor saw Moreira walk into the store and straight over to the Hugo Boss perfume bottles where he appeared nervous and suspicious.

She told a colleague to watch him as she was busy with customers, but he soon ran towards the entrance doors. Despite her chasing him, he managed to run away with seven bottles of perfume to the value of £334.

Although police officers recognised him on CCTV, they weren’t able to track him down and arrest him until 13 April 2018.

Defending, Advocate Julian Gollop explained that Moreira had a serious drug addiction, and had sold the seven bottles of Hugo Boss perfume for just £40 to feed his habit.

Advocate Gollop said although Moreira had an “impressively poor record, going back over many years” his last ‘dishonest’ offence was in 2015 which is “commendable given his addiction.”

Magistrate Bridget Shaw took this into consideration as well as his guilty plea. She told Moreira she had taken into account his drug habit saying “it’s not a good reason but does explain why you’ve done it.”

As he’s made good progress with his detox programme, she ordered him to pay compensation of £334 to De Gruchy department store for the loss of the perfume, six weeks after he’s released from prison, when he has his finances back in order.