A woman who bought alcohol and cigarettes with another person’s bankcard has been placed on good behaviour bonds in Orange Local Court.
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Megan Lewry, 39, of Oxley Place, appeared in court last Tuesday where she was placed on two nine-month good behaviour bonds for two charges of dishonestly obtaining property by deception.
Lewry was sentenced for using a man’s Mastercard card to buy $34.99 worth of pre-mixed bourbon and cola using tap and go services at a liquor store on February 4, and for using the card to buy a packet of cigarettes from a petrol station.
The bankcard was misplaced by its owner on Summer Street between Lords Place and Anson Street between 2pm and 3pm the same day.
In a police report it was alleged Lewry picked up the card and used it to buy the items.
Both transactions were recorded on CCTV and police were contacted after the victim noticed transactions being made on his account.
Police spoke with Lewry about the incident on April 2, however when told about the allegation denied knowing anything about it.
However, she had pleaded guilty to the two charges when she was represented in court by solicitor Gerry Stapleton last Tuesday.
“Miss Lewry has come to this jurisdiction fairly late in her life in 2016,” Mr Stapleton said.
“She’s a 39-year-old Aboriginal lady, she says the offences were committed in an opportunistic moment.”
Mr Stapleton also noted that the amounts spent on the card were “fairly small” and last year was a traumatic time in Lewry’s life, “with her being third party privy to a fatal car accident and she said she had been assaulted last year”.
Mr Stapleton said Lewry had a “fairly impressive background,” in regard to education and employment which included financial work on a mine site in the Pilbara.
Lewry was sentenced by magistrate Alison Viney who accepted the opportunistic nature of the crime but warned Lewry about the path she was going down.
“You are appearing much more regularly before a court than what we would like people to do,” Ms Viney said.
Ms Viney also warned Lewry that the nine month good-behaviour bonds were an alternative to jail.
“You will need to appear back before the court if you breach those bonds,” she said.
