'Fairy Godmother' slammed for trying to 'big note' herself with stolen gifts

Catherine Louise Straney, 54, of Greville Place, Kelso was sentenced in Bathurst Local Court on February 28, 2024 after she pleaded guilty to two counts of shoplifting.

Court documents state Straney tried to steal a can of V Energy drink and two frozen dinners from Woolworths Armada about 4pm on December 13, 2023.

As she went to leave the store without paying for the items worth $13.70, Straney was stopped by a witness and taken to an area where police were waiting.

"Yeah I stole them, just hurry up and do what you need to do," Straney said.

During a search by police, Straney was found with 26 items from Kmart, including a birthday card, various clothing, toiletry items and food worth $217.50.

"They are stolen too, I got them from Kmart for my daughter's birthday. Just take them and I'll go to Sydney and steal them again," Straney said

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Solicitor James Taylor, who was acting on behalf of Legal Aid, told the court Straney - a mum of six - didn't have a gift for her daughter's 21st birthday and "felt guilty".

But Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis said it had nothing to do with family and was more a case of Straney wanting to "big note herself as the fairy Godmother coming in with gifts".

The shoplifting offences also placed Straney in breach of a sentence for a prior assault charge.

"It's all about you; what you want, you go for," Ms Ellis said.

Straney was sentenced to jail to be served in the community through an intensive correction order (ICO) for one year.

She must also do 100 hours of unpaid community service work, and abstain from illegal drugs and alcohol or risk breaching the ICO.