Co Armagh woman, who stole more than £1,500 worth of goods from Asda in Portadown, returned some of them for a refund, Craigavon court hears

Jenna McCoo, aged 40, from Timakeel Lodge, Portadown appeared before the court charged with 14 counts of theft and 10 counts of fraud by false representation.

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The court heard that on October 9, 2023, police received a report from Asda in Portadown that a woman who had been suspected of committing thefts had returned to the store.

"Staff explained she had just returned two items of clothing they knew were previously stolen and had been credited with £32 on a gift card,” said a prosecutor who added that police then cautioned the defendant for theft and fraud.

She was also found to have items in her trolley she hadn’t paid for, the prosecutor said. She re-entered the store and paid for those items. Security staff said they suspected her of a number of other thefts.

In May last year police attended Asda in Portadown to receive an investigation file. The defendant had stolen items 14 times between May 22 and October 9, 2023.

“On 10 of those occasions the defendant had then returned to the store with previously stolen goods, usually clothing by George at Asda, and was credited with a store gift card. She would use that gift card as payment for further goods,” said the prosecutor who revealed the total loss outstanding was £1,504.37.

During interviews with police McCoo made full admissions. The prosecutor told the court that during interview the defendant said: “Sometimes I bought things. Sometimes I did get them refunded. I do remember bringing items back and I remember getting gift cards. I didn’t mean to steal anything. My mind was in a bad place.”

The prosecutor added that McCoo said she was in ‘significant pain’ and was taking a lot of medication. She said she was ‘relieved’ she had been caught and expressed remorse to the police.

McCoo’s solicitor Mr Peter Murphy said his client had submitted full restitution of the £1,504.37 to him and he was happy to lodge it with the court.

He said his client is a married woman with one child and no previous convictions. He explained she had worked as an administrative officer with the local health trust for over 20 years.

"During that time her physical health and mental health was in a state of deterioration. Her physical health became so bad she had to leave her work,” said Mr Murphy who said his client now accepts she was suffering from depression.

"She became embroiled in all of this and, as the court heard, she is glad she was eventually caught. She immediately wanted to make full restitution,” he said.

"She believes after what has happened her family unit has become a lot stronger,” said the solicitor.

"She wants to put this behind her and has assured me nothing like this will happen again,” he said, adding up until this his client was a law-abiding woman who hadn’t even received a parking ticket.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan described it as a “spree” with “some element of planning” in relation to the fraud offences.

He sentenced McCoo to a Combination Order with 12 months Probation and 80 hours of Community Service.