Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
A shoplifter with a taste for the risqué has been fined for a string of thefts including one incident in which she swiped a “personal massager” and lingerie.
Defence lawyer Ryan Fawcett said his client’s life was out of control at the time of the crimes and she saw shoplifting as a way to remedy that.
“This may have been some kind of effort to claw back some of that control,” Fawcett told court on Thursday.
Faith Amber Morely, 27, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft in answer to three separate incidents of shoplifting last year.
On May 13, 2011, she was caught on surveillance video at Smitten Premium Adult Boutique as she stole a $10 Lady Finger personal massager (also known as a vibrator) and Cheap Thrills Captain Skully lingerie worth $32.
The theft, however, was only discovered later after store staff found empty packaging.
Staff called police who arrested Morely six days later and she admitted to the crime after officers confronted her with still images captured from the video footage.
The Smitten incident didn't deter Morely from making other shoplifting attempts.
Morely was also caught stealing $92 worth of boys T-shirts, cards and crayons from Zellers on May 26, 2011. In addition, she stole various items worth $98 from Real Canadian Superstore on Sept. 14, 2011.
Fawcett said Morely, who has no previous criminal record, was going through a tough time around the time of the thefts. She wasn’t working, and had family and addictions problems.
Judge John Combs fined Morely a total of $600 for all three incidents.
Staff at Smitten said it was the posting of video and pictures of the shoplifting suspect online, on the store’s Facebook page, that led to Morely being identified as the person responsible for the thefts at that store.
The store had received a number of tips identifying her as the one responsible.
Facebook has had some success in other cases, too. Staff indicate that as many as five shoplifting suspects have been identified using that method in recent years.
» ihitchen@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition May 18, 2012
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A shoplifter with a taste for the risqué has been fined for a string of thefts including one incident in which she swiped a “personal massager” and lingerie.
Defence lawyer Ryan Fawcett said his client’s life was out of control at the time of the crimes and she saw shoplifting as a way to remedy that.
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A shoplifter with a taste for the risqué has been fined for a string of thefts including one incident in which she swiped a “personal massager” and lingerie.
Defence lawyer Ryan Fawcett said his client’s life was out of control at the time of the crimes and she saw shoplifting as a way to remedy that.
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