Woman jailed for receiving stolen New Look vouchers

Hazel Baker, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 12th April.

The court heard that New Look vouchers, worth £120, was stolen in a walk-in burglary on 27th December 2014.

Enquiries were then made to trace the vouchers and Baker was found to have spent them in the store on 3rd January 2015 in Mansfield.

In police interview, Baker denied knowing they were stolen and said she had played no part in the burglary.

Police found that to be true as Baker had been staying at Framework in Worksop on the night of the offence and it was confirmed that Baker was there that evening.

In mitigation, David Verity said that Baker deserved credit for her immediate guilty plea.

“She had no involvement in the burglary,” Mr Verity said.

“She accepts she knew they were stolen.”

The magistrates said that this offence pre-dated a custodial sentence that Baker had served, meaning that her sentence would have been longer if this offence had been dealt with at the same time, giving them no option to sentence her to six-weeks forthwith in custody. The magistrates also said the decision was made because of her dreadful record of dishonesty.