Stewartstown '˜heroin addict' stole hundreds worth of perfume

Patricia Lappin (27), of The Square, Stewartstown, pleaded guilty to stealing perfumes to a total value of £665.50 from Boots Chemists on Feb 12 2015.

A defence lawyer said Lappin had been in custody for five months and was now subject to a community service order which was under review at Dungannon Court. He said the matter had been adjourned and the defendant had 140 hours of the order still to run.

Counsel said the court had limited options to deal with the case and suggested deferring sentence or “leave something hanging over her head.”

He explained that defendant is a heroin addict and this was the reason behind most of her offending. He added that Lappin was “in the grip of this” at the time of the offence.

Passing sentence, the judge warned defendant to stay out of trouble.