A pregnant teenager who stole $120 from her grandmother for drugs and alcohol received a suspended sentence in the Whangarei District Court yesterday.
Lisa Amy Taylor, 17, of the Whangarei suburb of Kamo, pleaded guilty before Judge Arthur Tompkins to charges of theft, taking a document, and using a document.
The court heard Taylor had gone to her grandmother's house on March 28. Finding no one home, she made a cup of coffee and looked for money to take.
She pocketed $20 from her grandmother's handbag, and took a cashflow card to withdraw $100 from her grandmother's bank account, before replacing the card in her grandmother's bag.
When questioned by her grandmother, Taylor denied knowing anything about the missing money.
However, she later told police she needed the cash for her "drug and alcohol problem".
Duty solicitor Naomi Cramer told the court Taylor was pregnant and denied having a drug or alcohol problem. The teenager had co-operated with police and was repaying her grandmother by mowing lawns and other chores.
Following a same-day assessment by the probation service Judge Tompkins convicted Taylor and ordered her to come up for sentence if called up within six months and to pay court costs of $130.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE
Northland teen stole from grandma
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