Tullamore woman hid stolen bottle of red wine behind umbrella

A WOMAN stole a bottle of red wine by hiding it behind an umbrella in the store, a recent sitting of Tullamore District Court was told.

Sharon Ryle, 23, Ard na Greine, Tullamore pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of red wine worth €13.50 in Leavy's Centra, Henry Street, Tullamore on September 30 last.

Sergeant Brendan Kearns told the court that the defendant tried to conceal the bottle behind her umbrella as she was leaving the store but it was detected by CCTV. She had six previous convictions, including drink driving and a number of thefts.

The defending solicitor Patrick Martin said his client has two children, aged 16 and 18, and is not working at the moment. “She wishes to apologise for her behaviour,” remarked Mr Martin.

Judge Andrew Cody commented that it was unfortunate that Ms Ryle had undergone a 12 week programme to tackle problems in her life, but only a few weeks after the end of the course had gone into a Centra store and stolen a bottle.

Judge Cody convicted and sentenced the defendant to a month in prison, suspending the sentence for two years.

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