“You left court on bail and went back out and continued to steal.
“You did that on a large number of occasions.
“Regrettably, and sadly, Miss Thomas, the only way we could stop you from stealing was to remand you in custody.”
She’s estimated to have stolen about $10,000 worth of groceries, clothing and petrol between July and December.
That time behind bars “has been a wake-up call for her”, Thomas’ counsel Rhiannon Scott told the judge as she urged him not to send her client to jail on 42 theft, trespass and driving while suspended charges.
But Judge Cocurullo said he struggled to believe that given the repetitive nature of her offending.
‘A recidivist shoplifter who’s increasing in aggression’
Thomas was trespassed from all Countdown – now Woolworths – supermarkets in Hamilton and its wider surrounds in January 2024.
Between August and December last year, she committed 13 petrol drive-offs around the Waikato and Auckland regions.
On 10 of those occasions, she was driving either her own or her mother’s car displaying either stolen or crudely altered registration plates; she used black tape to try to amend a letter or number.
Court documents describe Thomas as a “recidivist shoplifter” who is “increasing in aggression”.
In June last year, she went into Woolworths St Lukes, filled a small trolley with $270 worth of groceries and left without paying.
The following month, she and a co-offender went to the men’s department in Farmers Chartwell and picked out five hoodies and a pair of pants.
The pair went into a changing room to try to conceal them before walking out. The stolen clothing was worth about $500.
Two days later, Thomas and an accomplice went to Farmers at The Base in Hamilton and put pants, socks and a T-shirt into her co-offender’s backpack.
This time, they were stopped and handed the items back.
On July 17, she was in Auckland at St Luke’s Woolworths and stole about $1200 worth of produce, meat, seafood and beer.
The following month, Thomas filled a basket full of menswear items from Farmers Glenfield after being spotted by security.
When confronted by the store manager, she became “angry” and snatched the basket back before running off with the items.
Woolworths Herne Bay, Birkenhead, Milford and Rototuna were all targeted in August last year.
When arrested, she told police: “I only steal to survive. I can’t get by on the $120 I get per week from Winz.”
Thomas then struck at New World Hillcrest and Pak’nSave Mill St within a day of each other in February this year, with co-offenders, stealing a further $350 of grocery items.
‘She’s had a wake-up call’
Scott and Judge Cocurullo briefly butted heads over Thomas’ behaviour on bail.
Scott said her client shouldn’t get an uplift for offending on bail because of the totality principle, which effectively prevents a sentence from becoming excessively long.
“She’s going to get one,” the judge responded. “It’s significant ... I count 13 occasions she was released from the court on bail.
“She had chance after chance, and her response was to steal.”
Thomas had engaged with the Mason Clinic and if she was sentenced to home detention, she would also get support from Oranga Tamariki, which would pay for counselling, clothing, food allowances and housing.
As for what would stop her offending, Scott said her client’s time in custody “has certainly been a wake-up call for her”.
‘You have a major problem with stealing,’
Judge Cocorullo wasn’t in the mood to mince his words today.
“You have a major problem with stealing from retailers.
“You have gone out and systemically and profoundly stolen again, bringing you to court and releasing you on bail did not stop you from doing that on a large number of occasions.
“All of this retail stealing affects retailers’ bottom lines and their fiscal viability.
“The breadth and seriousness of your offending, together with aspects of deterrence and denunciation, means that, for you, Miss Thomas, regretfully, I do not get to the position where I can give you home detention.
“The only sentence I can properly land, given how expansive your offending is, is a sentence of imprisonment.”
Thomas, who was supported in court by her mother, sister and brother, was jailed for 21 months and disqualified from driving for six months.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.
