Teenagers admit stealing from shops
Two St George’s women admitted shoplifting after they were caught with stolen underwear and beauty products.Brittaney Symonds and Tahirah Butterfield, both 19, pleaded guilty in Magistrates’ Court to multiple counts of theft.Crown counsel Geoffrey Faiella told the court that at around 3pm on February 6, police received a report of a theft at the Phoenix Store, on Reid Street. Officers attended the scene and were told by store management that both women were seen on camera removing items from the shelf and leaving the store without paying for them.A search of the women’s possessions revealed items stolen from not just the Phoenix, but also from Gibbon’s Company and Daisy and Mac.Symonds was found with $119.45 of stolen goods, including underwear, eye liner, nail polish and a pacifier, while Butterfield was found with $103.95 of stolen goods, including underwear, false nails and a baby ‘onesie’.The women admitted the thefts during a police interview, but Butterfield insisted that she did not steal the onesie, saying that a friend from St George’s had given it to her as a gift. Officers contacted the friend, who denied buying the item.Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner released both women on $1,000 bail with like sureties until March 30 so that a social inquiry report can be carried out before sentencing.