A prolific Carlisle shoplifter is back behind bars after a spate of new thefts were committed as her life went off the rails.
Corrina Kirkpatrick, 33, struck at five different city stores on eight different dates in June, July and August this year.
At the time, Kirkpatrick was subject to a 100-day suspended prison sentence which was handed to her by magistrates in March for similar previous offending.
Carlisle Crown Court heard today that Kirkpatrick stole from Heron Foods’s city centre premises on four separate occasions. There were also illegal visits to B&M Bargains, Co-op shops at Denton Street and Blackwell Road, and also Waterstones.
On the evening of July 30, at Heron Foods, Kirkpatrick was seen by a manager to be one of a four-strong shoplifting group who targeted high value items in one area of the store.
“All four were taking food from the chiller section, putting it into bags and doing it in a way which is described as frantic,” said the prosecution, who described Kirkpatrick as a prolific shoplifter. He said: “(The manager) went to the front of the store to stop them but wasn’t able to detain them.”
Kirkpatrick’s loot included meat, dairy products, a shopping basket and even bird seed, and had a total value of around £500.
Kirkpatrick had 104 crimes to her name — the majority for similar offending.
The court heard Kirkpatrick’s life had gone off the rails during the summer amid chaotic personal circumstances and negative influences. As a result she had succumbed to anxiety and depression, turning to street drugs rather than prescribed methadone, and stealing to fund her addiction.
Of Kirkpatrick’s persistent shoplifting, Miss Whittlestone said: “She fully understands it causes a great deal of stress and loss to companies in the local area who are trying to run their businesses.”
Since being remanded in custody, Kirkpatrick, of Close Street, Carlisle, had engaged with help in a bid to put her life back on track.
Judge Michael Fanning imposed an immediate seven-month jail term and activated the previous 100-day suspended term, to run consecutively.
