A St David’s woman had theft charges against her dismissed after a magistrate found that the allegations did not meet the requirements of the offence.

Merangene Ollivierre, 56, from Cove Valley, stood accused of the theft of $110 of food items from Lindo’s Market, in Devonshire, where she was employed at the time.

Crown counsel Auralee Cassidy told the court that on December 23, a relative of the defendant attended the store, where she worked as a cashier and purchased items.

However, management became suspicious of the transaction and after looking at the receipt, noticed that several items had not been rang through and others were run through at lower prices.

While Ms Ollivierre initially pleaded guilty to the offence, Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner questioned the Crown whether the incident met the qualifications for theft, noting that the crime requires the offender “appropriate” the goods.

In this case, based on the information before the court, Mr Warner said that did not happen.

Mr Warner dismissed the information and discharged the defendant, but warned Ms Ollivierre that she could still face criminal charges based on the same facts.