[D]istrict Judge Gerald Chalk told a 37-year-old Carlisle woman, he was sending her to prison for a total of 70-days after she pleaded guilty to three-shop thefts within days of each other.
The court was told Ms McKnight had no-money to buy food, so she had to steal, the judge was told Mc Knight told her lawyer Rachel Dixon she had used a Foodbank for over three-months and was not allowed to go back.
Jean Elizabeth Mc Knight, of Partridge Place, appeared from custody at the magistrates court, Carlisle, the court was told she entered the Tesco store on Victoria Viaduct on August 30 and stole a large number of items and left without paying, then on September 1 she went to the Asda store in Kingstown and again stole items, the next day she entered Tesco on the Viaduct and packed a trolley full of items, the value of these items was around £347.00, the total of the three thefts amounted to hundreds of pounds.
Rachel Dixon for Mc Knight told the judge “her client is absolutely terrified of going to prison,” she is already on a Community Order with the Probation Service, she is a “heroin user and her life is in a chaotic state, and has mental health issues,” she suffers from severe depression at the moment the judge was told. Mc Knight was sent to prison for a total of 70-days, 42-days to run concurrent for the thefts, as she has a large amount in fines, for these she will serve 28-days, when she is released she will have no-debt owing to the court, but has to pay a victims surcharge of £115, when released from prison she will be under the supervision of the Probation Service for one-year.
