A Hamilton woman who walked out of a supermarket with a trolley load of groceries has been jailed for the two days she spent in the Warrnambool police station cells.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Samantha Martin, 33, of Dempster Drive, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to breaching bail and theft from a shop.
The court heard she was was arrested mid afternoon on Tuesday at a Hamilton address after she was captured on security camera footage leaving the Coles supermarket.
Martin and an unknown woman were seen on CCTV footage entering the supermarket and loading a trolley with grocery items.
Martin bought a barbecue chicken and a newspaper and then left the shop without paying for more than $150 worth of items.
The theft was reported to police. Officers attended a Hamilton address where they found the woman in a vehicle with the shopping.
The court heard Martin was already on bail for similar offending after she stole a $55 bottle of rum.
Lawyer Jess Dean said Martin was asked to do a favour for a friend.
"When she realised how much (the groceries) were going to cost, she realised she had to choose between her family being fed or this other friend," she said.
"She decided that she felt so bad abut the difficult financial situation her friend was in that she would just take them anyway."
Martin was sentenced to the two days she spent in custody and fined $300.
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.
