Jennifer O’Brien had targeted seventeen different shops in the space of a year and had been given the chance to turn her life around, but ended up giving into temptation
A woman who had been offered the chance to keep herself out of jail has admitted to shoplifting – again. This now marks the eighteenth time that she has carried out such a crime.
Jennifer O’Brien had previously been hit with a community order back in July after she appeared in court with her previous convictions. She was spared jailed, but was warned that if she had committed another crime, she could face a prison stint.
Now, she is waiting to appear in court after she appeared once again in the dock charged with stealing items from shops. She has been granted unconditional bail in the meantime ahead of the sentencing on Tuesday (February 10).
In July, Newcastle Magistrates’ Court had heard that Jennifer, 33, had been pregnant and was a drug addict at the time of her first 17 offences. She also did not target just one shop, but included several shops around the Tyne and Wear region, according to ChronicleLive.
In some instances, Jennifer was accused of assaulting some shop workers, including in Primark and Waitrose, after her shoplifting attempt was rumbled. It is believed that at the time she had stolen nearly £2,000 worth of goods, which included everything from alcohol to food.
Among the other items that Jennifer had been accused of stealing were laundry products, pencil cases, tie-dye kits, toys, gel pens and diffusers. Appearing in court last summer, Jennifer pleaded guilty to some 17 different counts of shop theft, two counts of assault and one count of criminal damage.
Showing some leniency, the presiding judge sentenced O’Brien to an 18-month-long community order, but told her she would face a worse punishment if she reoffended. However, just days after she had sworn to kick her drug habit in order to look after her 10-week son, Jennifer allegedly had gone back on her promise.
She was reportedly spotted stealing a total of £55 worth of goods form a Co-op shop in the town of Fenham. She appeared in court again in November, after it was also found she was behind three other shoplifting incidents stretching from December 2024.
The judge deferred her sentence in a last-ditch attempt to help O’Brien prove she could keep herself out of trouble. But earlier this week, she was seen in court once again, after she was believed to have stolen £164 worth of female underwear from a Next shop.
Prosecutor Clare Haswell says the incident had taken place in June, a month before she was given the community order. She had admitted that only offence that committed since the order was brought in, but it is believed Jennifer had not been coping well with the terms of the order.
Alanna Wesencraft, defending the woman, said that she had received news about her son, which reportedly let her “devastated”, exacerbating already-established mental health problems, including PTSD, bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder.
O’Brien had been due to appear in court in January on the charges against her but was unable to appear due to being in hospital due to having sepsis. The case has since been adjourned until Tuesday (February 10), when O’Brien will appear before a district judge.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
By staronline@reachplc.com (Rory Gannon)
Source link
