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12
May
Woman who used de-tagging device to steal tracksuits from Harrogate shop sentenced
A woman who used a de-tagging device to steal clothes from a Harrogate store has been sentenced.
Kerry Mawson, who lives in the Harrogate area, pleaded guilty to theft from a shop, going equipped for theft and two counts of possessing a class A drug at Harrogate Magistrates Court on March 20.
The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared and Mawson returned to court last Friday (May 9) for sentencing. The report was not read aloud in court.
Mel Ibbotson, prosecuting, told the court that staff at Sports Direct in Harrogate saw the defendant enter the store on January 24 this year.
Mawson took five tracksuits into the changing rooms but only came out with three.
The court heard she was followed around the Victoria Shopping Centre by security and was found to be wearing two of the tracksuits when she was stopped and later arrested.
Ms Ibbotson said a de-tagging device was found in a sock in Mawson’s bag, as well as a quantity of cocaine and heroin.
Mawson told police she had been looking around Sports Direct and admitted she had stolen the clothes, but added she “wanted to see how the device worked”.
The stolen goods, which were valued at £105.98, were recovered by the police.
Sports Direct in Harrogate
The Stray Ferret covered Mawson’s first court hearing, during which defence solicitor Sean Wilson said she had previously been “exploited”.
He said at the time Mawson had not lived in North Yorkshire for long and was moved here by a police force in the Midlands.
Mr Wilson, who was defending Mawson again at her sentencing hearing, shared the details of the ordeal in court but the Stray Ferret has chosen not to reveal them for safety reasons.
The court heard the 39-year-old defendant has struggled with substance abuse for a number of years, but she has sought help from an agency.
She also suffers from anxiety and depression.
The magistrates sentenced Mawson to a 12-month community order, during which she must complete a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
She was ordered to pay a £114 surcharge and the drugs seized will be destroyed.
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