A Pembroke Dock woman stole high value items from local stores to fund her drug habit a court heard this week.
Forty-five-year-old Celia Parsley, of London Road, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday, to admit four charges of theft from shops in the area.
The court heard how on September 8 she stole a towel, bedding and toiletries belonging to Pembroke Dock’s Tesco store, returning two days later to steal three Playstation controllers to the value of £150 from the same store.
On September 15, Miss Parsley returned to the Tesco store to take seven Xbox and Playstation games worth £300.
The court heard however that her highest value theft came on September 28 when she stole perfumes to the value of £722 from the Debenhams store in Haverfordwest.
Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told magistrates that the defendant admitted all the offences when interviewed by police, after CCTV evidence from the stores had shown her taking the items, and leaving the premises without paying.
“These were relatively high value items stolen. The defendant then put the perfumes and aftershaves on Facebook to sell. She is a recovering heroin addict who has started using crack cocaine, so she needed the money to buy drugs,” he said.
Probation officer Julie Norman told the court that Miss Parsley’s last conviction came in 2004/5, and after managing to keep herself out of trouble for a significant time, the defendant said that she was ‘disappointed’ with herself.
“She is receiving treatment with a drug agency but has relapsed recently due to personal issues,” she explained.
Magistrates handed Miss Parsley a 12 month community order with a 15 day rehabilitation activity requirement, and 19 sessions as part of a thinking skills programme.
She was fined £200 for the offences and ordered to pay compensation of £450 to the Tesco store and £722 to Debenhams.
The defendant was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £90 victim surcharge.