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16
Apr
Thief stole goods from Harrogate supermarket as Easter presents for family
A woman has admitted to stealing hundreds of pounds worth of goods from a Harrogate supermarket – some of which were to be gifted to her family.
Cristina Muti, 36, appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court this morning (April 16) when she admitted one offence of shop theft.
Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting, told the court Muti had travelled to Harrogate from Peterborough, before entering Sainsbury’s on Railway Road at around 3.30pm on April 1.
A member of security staff at the supermarket watched Muti as she walked into the store with a rucksack and a basket.
Moments later, however, the security guard noticed Muti walking around the store carrying not only the basket, but also two large bags with a coat over the top of them.
The bags appeared to be full of items, the court heard.
Ms Tyrer said Muti, of Bedford Street in Peterborough, was seen to go to the self-checkout area, where she only paid for some hot cross buns and a bag of oranges.
Ms Tyrer added:
The member of security staff was concerned about this as she made no attempt to pay for the items in the bags and the basket. They were still covered by the coat.
He picked up a security tag that’s normally used on clothing and as she went through the security barrier, he used the tag to activate the barrier. He did that to make sure the defendant stopped.
Muti was escorted to the security office by the member of staff and his colleague, where they discovered a “large number of items” in the bags and the basket.
These included coffee beans, ice cream, bras and clothing, with a total value of £608.
Muti made no comment during her police interview the following day, the court heard, but she did make a “significant comment” when she was at the custody desk.
Ms Tyrer told the court Muti, a Romanian national, said:
I have stolen, I know it was wrong. It was not in a trolley, it was in a bag.
Muti is said to have told officers at the custody desk the stolen clothes were for family members “back home” in Romania.
The defendant was sentenced for a separate shop theft at Lincolnshire Magistrates Court on March 26, just days before this offence, when she was ordered to pay compensation for the stolen goods.
“This offence happened four or five days later, and is aggravated by her travelling to commit the offence with no explanation from her”, Ms Tyrer said.
Defendant ‘very sorry’
Andrew Tinning, defending, told the court all the goods stolen by Muti on April 1 were recovered.
The case was translated to Muti through a Romanian interpreter, but Mr Tinning said efforts to discuss how the defendant came to be Harrogate and the impact of her being in court just days before the offence “came to nought”.
He added:
She said repeatedly that she made a mistake and is very sorry, but no other explanation was forthcoming.
The theft was prompted by Muti’s recent financial troubles, the court was told, which have stemmed from two factors.
Mr Tinning said:
Firstly, her sister was living with her and contributing to rent, but she has now returned to Romania, so Ms Muti has more to pay in respect of household costs.
The second, Ms Muti says, is that she has always worked in this country. It would appear to be agency and factory work that she’s had - primarily in a flower factory local to her – and she had full-time work previously. But she has been reduced to two-to-three days a week.
The court heard Muti has lived in the UK for seven or eight years without ever getting into trouble, until recently.
She told police “part of her intention” for the Sainsbury’s theft was to send Easter gifts to family members in Romania, which she “could not otherwise afford”.
Mr Tinning added:
She’s indicating that she’s been struggling financially recently and this is not the beginning of a continuing course of offending.
The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report. Muti will appear at Peterborough Magistrates Court on May 19 for sentencing.
She was released on bail, with the singular condition being not to enter North Yorkshire.
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