A woman who bit and spat at shop workers, assaulted a security guard and kicked two street marshals during an epic thieving spree in York has been spared jail.
Nicola Duckworth, 41, stole copious amounts of food and drink from four supermarkets and a department store in and around the city centre during a shoplifting splurge spanning nine months, York Magistrates’ Court heard.
Prosecutor Antony Farrell said the crime spree began in January when Duckworth, in company with a named man, stole nearly £50 of food and alcohol from the Tesco store in Gillygate on two separate occasions.
In May, she stole “multiple” bottles of whisky from Sainsbury’s in Foss Bank where she bit two male shop assistants on the hand.
On 5 June, she targeted the Tesco store on Low Ousegate where she stole more food and drink. After leaving the shop she kicked two street marshals when they tried to stop her in Castlegate.
About a week later, Duckworth, who is unemployed, stole six bottles of alcohol and a gift bag from Marks & Spencer in Pavement. When a security guard tried to stop her, she assaulted him.
Mr Farrell said that Duckworth pushed the security officer who suffered injuries to his fingers after getting them “caught in a jacket”.
On 24 August, a female shop worker at Tesco Express in Low Ousegate, suspecting that Duckworth was up to no good, asked her to leave, only for the serial thief to spit at her.
Duckworth, whose latest addresses on the court register were homeless shelters in Walmgate and Fishergate, was arrested and charged with six counts of theft and six counts of assault.
She was summoned to appear in court on 24 September after being released on bail but didn’t turn up, resulting in a warrant being issued.
She was arrested shortly afterwards, remanded in custody and appeared in court a few days later when she admitted four of the six assaults and failing to surrender to court custody. She was also convicted of biting the two Sainsbury’s workers.
‘Complete mess’
She appeared for sentence today when her solicitor Craig Robertson told the court that Duckworth’s life had been “spiralling down dramatically”.
He added: “To be biting and punching and spitting at people is completely unacceptable and especially in a scenario where people are just doing their jobs. She is in no doubt that that behaviour is totally abhorrent.”
He said that Duckworth, originally from the North West, had “escaped” from Manchester where she had been in a difficult relationship and arrived in York “by chance” after catching a train and ending up in North Yorkshire. She remained in York but fell in with the wrong crowd and started drinking to excess.
District judge Adrian Lower told Duckworth: “For whatever reason, you came to York and…you fell into the wrong company, and to an extent I think you have been exploited by being encouraged to get involved in things that otherwise you wouldn’t be doing.”
He said that Duckworth’s alcohol abuse had led to her stealing “time and time again” and assaulting people who were “simply doing their jobs”.
He added: “How can it be acceptable for people to be bitten in the course of their jobs?”
He said that Duckworth had made a “complete mess” of her life and that the sheer number, and seriousness, of her offences meant that a custodial sentence was inevitable.
However, he noted that Duckworth had made good use of her time on remand by gaining insight into her offending, had approached an alcohol-abuse charity for support and felt “ashamed, guilty and truly sorry”, which meant he could suspend the prison sentence.
The 24-week jail term was suspended for 12 months but Duckworth was ordered to pay compensation for the value of the items stolen from the five stores.
In addition, she was ordered to pay £100 to each of the two Sainsbury’s shop workers she had bitten and £100 to each of the two named street marshals she assaulted. She was also ordered to pay the Marks & Spencer security guard £50 compensation and a similar amount to the female shop worker she attacked at Tesco in Low Ousegate.
The penalties will be deducted from her benefits.
Duckworth was ordered to complete up to 30 rehabilitation-activity days and was excluded from entering any of the affected supermarkets for 12 months