A 24-year-old woman who stuffed clothing items in her bag and then went to the cashier in order to exchange them for other clothes was before Ballina District Court on Tuesday for the charge of making gain or causing loss my deception.
Gardaí were called to Penney’s, Ballina, on March 5 2013 as Grace Maughan, 43 Roches Terrace, Ballina, had entered the store and taken a number of items from the rails along with a jacket and dress. Maughan entered the store lift and placed the jacket and dress in her bag. This was captured on CCTV. Maughan went to the customer service desk and requested an exchange on the jacket and dress for the other items she had in her hand. The defendant paid €2 in the difference and left the store.
Maughan admitted what she did. The defendant had no previous convictions.
Superintendent Pat McHugh said that in this instance “goodwill in shops was preyed on”.
Solicitor John Gordon said that his client bought quite a lot of goods from Penney’s but had not returned to the shop since the incident.
Judge Mary Devins convicted and fined her €150.
