A woman who stole hundreds of dollars worth of jeans in order to pay her drug dealer has been released from jail following sentencing.
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Solicitor Usman Naveed said his client Samantha Towle of Pindari Place, Orange, spent three months and five days in custody before she was sentenced in Orange Local Court on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.
She spent that period in custody on remand after being refused bail.
Towle was charged with stealing from Bobbies Clothing Store, Officeworks and was found in possession of stolen goods from Kmart.
Mr Naveed said since the thefts, 28-year-old Towle has participated in a mental health program and has been willing to get into rehabilitation, although programs were limited for prisoners on remand.
"She's now completely sober," Mr Naveed said.
"Her main issue will be housing."
According to court documents, Towle stole $440.90 worth of electrical items including activity trackers, earphones and headphones from Officeworks about 3pm on August 31, 2023.
She then returned to the store again at 6.20pm the same evening and stole a $79 iPad case.
Police were contacted following the thefts and Towle was identified on CCTV footage.
On September 4, 2023, Towle was charged with having suspected stolen goods in her possession and unlawfully obtaining goods.
About 9.50pm that evening, police were patrolling the Orange CBD shortly after items were reported stolen from Kmart.
During the patrol the police stopped to speak to Towle and she confirmed she was in possession of stolen property.
She handed over three packets of socks, two Anko brand embroidery kids and an Anko brand USB-C to HDMI adaptor and said she stole them from Kmart two hours earlier.
Towle was also charged with larceny after stealing $679.75 worth of jeans and a pair of shorts from Bobby's Clothing Store at 10.20am on October 16, 2023.
An off-duty police officer was also a customer at the store and witnessed the theft. An employee also chased after her but could not catch her.
Towle was arrested at Orange Police Station for an unrelated matter on November 2, 2023.
While being questioned she said she stole $700 worth of jeans and shorts to pay back her drug dealer. She added that she wouldn't stop stealing until her drug dealer was paid.
Magistrate David Day said Towle's offending put her in breach of previous court orders but he would take no action against those breaches.
"All of this was occurring when she was in a poor state mentally," Mr Day said.
Mr Day was aware of Towles' mental health diagnosis and said it was "exacerbated by her drug use".
However, he said she had not crossed the custody threshold.
Mr Day convicted Towle for each of the offences.
He gave her a 30-month supervised community corrections order with rehabilitation and treatment for the larceny from Bobbies Clothing Store.
For the $440 Officeworks theft he gave her a two-year CCO that will also require her to abstain from drugs.
He also gave her a 12-month CCO for her second theft from Officeworks.
For having possession of the stolen items from Kmart, Mr Day gave Towle a two-year supervised conditional release order with a conviction.
