A MILLICENT woman who purchased two cartons of cigarettes with two stolen bank cards said it was an “impulse, spare of the moment thing”.
The 43-year-old defendant appeared before the Millicent Magistrates Court earlier this month and pleaded guilty to dishonestly taking property and interfering with a motor vehicle.
On August 27, 2018 the woman allegedly stole a purse, driver’s licence and cards from an unlocked car, which belonged to a gardener who worked at a roadhouse in Keith.
Prosecution said the victim, who was was unknown to the accused, realised her purse had been stolen after she was alerted by her bank.
“The victim was alerted by her bank that she had just purchased goods at the roadhouse,” the prosecution said.
“She phoned her husband to check if he had used the card because she had not been inside the store.
“She then realised the purse had been stolen.”
The prosecution said the victim then approached the console operator at the store who told her a woman had purchased two cartons of cigarettes using paywave and then returned to make another purchase with paywave on a different card.
The console operator gave a description of the defendant, who was a passenger travelling on the bus.
Police stopped the bus en route to Adelaide and removed the accused from the vehicle.
The defendant admitted stealing the bank card and making purchases before informing police the purse could be located in a rubbish bin in the roadhouse’s toilets.
She told the court she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her childhood, adding sometimes it makes her do “stupid things”.
Magistrate Anderson said the defendant performed “amateurist offending” as she was caught on CCTV.
The defendant was ordered to pay $193.23 compensation and received a one month and 24 day suspended sentence.
She was placed on a $500, 12-month good behaviour bond and disqualified of holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for 12 months for interfering with the motor vehicle.
