A MUM who stole clothes from a shop in County Mall then made her escape by hitting a security guard with her car and crashing through a barrier, has been spared a prison sentence.
Mary Totham had a clean driving licence and had never even been arrested before she stole 110 of children’s clothes from Debenhams on October 8 last year.
The 29-year-old was caught on CCTV taking the items and leaving without paying.
When a security guard spotted her on camera and chased after her with another colleague, Totham fled.
Related content
During her getaway she reversed her Vauxhall Astra towards a security guard, who had to dive out of the way, before accelerating at his colleague who she hit and then carried on her car for a short distance.
Totham sped through a closed parking barrier, remarkably leaving the barrier with no damage, but causing some damage to her car.
She drove down the ramp and on to Halsett Avenue East, driving on the wrong side of the road for a short distance.
CCTV footage captured by cameras in Debenhams, near the shopping centre car park and on the street, documented the dramatic escape, which Totham told a court last Friday was motivated “by sheer panic”.
Appearing at Hove Crown Court for a preliminary hearing, the mother-of-two pleaded guilty to theft from a shop and dangerous driving.
However, she claimed she had no idea she had carried the security guard on her car.
Judge Charles Kemp questioned why a woman of previous good character and in sole custody of two children would behave in such a way.
She blamed the shoplifting on another woman she was with who she claims was the instigator of the theft.
This woman herself stole 165 of goods but has never been traced.
It was the fate of Totham’s children, who are five and eight, which influenced Judge Kemp not to send her to prison.
Prosecutor Dale Sullivan explained how police caught up with Totham.
He said: “The defendant was stopped by officers on or around the M25 later that evening, her vehicle having triggered an ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) alert.”
He added that her car had signs of front end damage consistent with the escape through the closed barrier.
A report by the Probation Service, following an interview with Totham after her guilty pleas, stated that her reasons for stealing were “financially motivated” as it was coming up to her daughter’s birthday and she couldn’t afford to buy her a present . However, the dangerous driving, she said, was motivated by panic and a “fight or flight response” to being caught stealing.
Monica Stevenson, defending, said her client had been struggling as a single parent after leaving an “unhealthy” relationship and receiving no financial support from the children’s father.
Her break-up with her partner had followed shortly after her father’s death.
Ms Stevenson said: “It comes, really, against the background of a very difficult time in her life.”
Judge Kemp said: “You entered your pleas today on the basis that you didn’t intend to hurt either of those security guards and you behaved out of sheer panic . But your driving fell far below that expected of a competent driver, and that is the basis on which I am sentencing you today.”
Judge Kemp added that the court had sympathy with her for issues in her personal life but said that was “no excuse for behaving in a reckless and criminal way”.
He added: “Your priority in life must be, surely, to look after your two young girls and to a degree that will dictate what I do with you today.” For the offence of theft he sentenced her to four months’ imprisonment and for dangerous driving she received a sentence of eight months, to run consecutively.
However, he suspended that for two years while ordering her to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work .
In addition, Totham must attend 14 sessions of a rehabilitation course called Thinking Ahead For Women aimed at helping her empathise with victims and think about her decisions.
A compensation order of 110 was issued in respect of Debenhams and a further 100 for the injured security guard.
She must also pay a 100 victim surcharge .
The total amount will be deducted from benefits at a rate of 20 a week as Totham, from Gomshall Gardens in Kenley, is unemployed.
She has also been banned from driving for 18 months.
References
- ^ Comments (0) (www.crawleynews.co.uk)
The post Judge decides not to jail shoplifting mum who drove into security guard while fleeing County Mall appeared first on News4Security.