Exclusive:Why a Gosport woman who stole £23 of food from Greggs has been sent to prison
“You have had several opportunities to steer yourself in the right direction.”
Sausage rolls, steak slices and a year in prison were all on the menu for a woman from Gosport.
Charlie Young has found herself behind bars after stealing goods worth a little under £25 from the Greggs in Gosport High Street.
On July 5 this year, Young entered the store and stole food items to the value of £23.35. According to court documents, two co-defendants were also involved, although they will not be dealt with until the new year.
Normally, most cases like this are dealt with by the magistrates court, and result in a suspended sentence, or community order. But Young, 34 of St Vincent Road in Gosport, was put in prison by Portsmouth Crown Court instead.
But it is because of the aforementioned suspended sentence rules that she has found herself in custody, as Judge David Melville KC explained.
He said: “During a suspended sentence, you went to Greggs with two others, behaved very badly and ended up stealing things. You were also absusive to staff during the incident.
“It was a disgraceful act, to which you had the common sense to plead guilty. You have many previous appearances in court, with 56 prior convictions.”
Young’s suspended sentence was for single charges of actual bodily harm and intentional strangulation, the court heard. While the defendant had recently disengaged from the Probation Service, her barrister argued that she had been making progress up until that point.
Daniel Reilly, defending Young, said: “She has indeed activated a suspended sentence, but had been making significant progress with the Probation Service, espexially in the first six months.
“Her focus is on getting healthier, and mentally stronger.”
Because of the suspended sentence being activated, Young was sent to prison - but not for as lengthy a time as she might have expected.
Judge Melville added: “You have had a troubled time, and I have been concered about how to deal with you in the past. It’s disappointing - you have had several opportunities to steer yourself in the right direction.
“I am not going to impose any separate penalty for the theft, because that would not ordinarily demand a prison sentence.”
Young was sentenced to 12 months in prison, brought down from the initial 18 months of her suspended sentence order.