Angus pensioner went on Orkney knitwear shoplifting spree

The Courier

5 days ago

An Angus pensioner went on a summer shoplifting spree in Orkney.
Allison Anne Marnie has been ordered by a sheriff to pay more than £1,300 to compensate the losses suffered by four craft and gilt stores.
The 67-year-old had travelled with her husband and were staying in an AirBnB when
she carried out the thefts.
Marnie was sentenced at Kirkwall Sheriff Court earlier this month, having previously pled guilty by letter to thefts of knitwear from four outlets.
The court heard she had later sought to sell some of her haul on eBay.
She took goods totalling nearly £1500 from Starlings gift shop and Judith Glue's store in Kirkwall, on July 7, and from Orkney Souvenirs in Kirkwall and The Quernstone in
Stromness, on July 12.
Sheriff Robert McDonald had continued the case for a background report and to establish the extent of the losses incurred by the businesses.
Procurator fiscal Sue Foard said none of the traders had made an insurance claim
due to the high excesses they would have had to have paid.
While many of the items had been recovered undamaged, she said by the time they were returned, they were viewed as old stock and out of season, meaning they could not be sold at the original price.
The knitwear included cardigans, scarves, mittens, gloves and socks.
Defence solicitor Fiona MacDonald said Marnie suffered from adverse mental health which had been exacerbated by the death of a close family member and believes she had 'some form of breakdown.'
The accused had accepted responsibility at the earliest opportunity and was willing to
recompense the retailers, she said.
The Orcadian newspaper reported shop owners were unhappy with the result of the case.
One, Fiona Mitchell of Castaway Crafts, said she had first reported the stealing spree after noticing goods on eBay.
A not guilty charge to stealing from her store was accepted by prosecutors so she is not included in those receiving compensation.
Judith Glue said she had expected a punishment element from the court, as well as the repayment order.
Marnie admitted an analogous recent offence in Edinburgh.
Her attendance at the hearing was excused.
Sheriff McDonald said in fixing compensation orders, he took into account the
items recovered would be heavily marked down when put on sale again.
He set the figures at £250 for Starlings, £550 for Judith Glue's, £300 for Orkney Souvenirs and £240 for The Quernstone.
Marnie, of Dishlandtown Street, Arbroath, was ordered to pay at £100 per month.