An unemployed 47-year-old woman was given a conditional discharge yesterday after admitting stealing goods from a supermarket.

Paul Wilson, for the Crown, told Magistrates’ Court that Nikia Virgil, of Hamilton Parish, entered the Shelly Bay MarketPlace shortly before 7pm on July 7 with a grocery cart and an empty knapsack.

The court was told that Virgil put grocery items in both the knapsack and cart, but only paid for the items that were in the cart.

After leaving the store, an employee noticed that Virgil’s knapsack was full and asked her to remove the stolen items, which totalled more than $60.

Police arrested Virgil at the scene and took her to Hamilton Police Station.

Despite pleading guilty, Virgil told magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo that the summary of evidence which was read out in court was not accurate. She also said that she was hungry when the incident occurred and has been unemployed for some time.

The matter returned to the courts yesterday for sentencing, with Mr Tokunbo giving Virgil a six-month conditional discharge, noting her guilty plea and that the goods were recovered.

“I would like to think you have learnt from this and it won’t happen again,” Mr Tokunbo added.

•It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.