Woman stole 10 bottles of spirits from supermarket

Thursday 11 May 2023

A woman who stole more than £150-worth of alcohol from a supermarket in two months has been ordered to pay for the bottles – and a £500 fine.

Emma Staley-Brookes stole five bottles of Smirnoff vodka and five bottles of Courvoisier brandy from the Co-op Grand Marché supermarket in St. Peter between 5 October and 3 December last year, the Magistrate's Court was told on Thursday.

Advocate Katie Ridley, prosecuting, said an employee saw Staley-Brookes taking a bottle of Courvoisier without paying. She said: "CCTV identified a number of occasions on which the defendant stole bottles of alcohol."

She was arrested on 25 March. "When she was shown ten CCTV clips she confirmed it was her in the footage," the advocate added.

Advocate David Steenson, defending, said Staley-Brookes was "a hard-working and empathetic lady" with no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty to theft at the earliest opportunity.

He explained: "She was going through a difficult period in her life. Things got on top of her and she did something that was extraordinarily stupid.

"She doesn’t completely understand why she did it. She is extremely sorry and is clearly embarrassed."

He added: "This was out of character and an isolated bout of offending, and nothing she is ever likely to repeat."

Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris ordered Staley-Brookes to pay £157.50, the value of the stolen bottles, and imposed a £500 fine.

He told her: "I hope you can put all of this behind you and move on."