Notts shoplifter jailed for thefts from Boots and Boyes

Elena Marriott was seen with a group of people who were acting suspiciously in a car park on February 12, said prosecutor Jim Clare.

When police checked the boot of her car, they found £580 of goods stolen from Boots, on Carolgate, Retford, and £314 taken from Boyes stores in Ollerton and Warsop.

When she was interviewed, Marriott admitted stealing the items but denied planning the thefts and cited ‘financial difficulties’.

The court heard the offences put her in breach of a suspended sentence, imposed three weeks earlier, and a community order made in August 2020.

Nick Walsh, mitigating, said the thefts were unsophisticated because she chose to go for some food after the thefts and returned to the car – ‘knowing full well that the police were present’.

When challenged she made immediate admissions, he said.

Marriott was introduced to Class A drugs at ‘a very young age’, he said, and her children were taken into care because of her addiction.

She suffers from hepatitis and other health conditions, the court heard, and is still struggling with the death of her partner who died 18 months ago.

"She has shown a sense of endeavour to keep appointments and engage," Mr Walsh said. "She accepts things spiralled out of control."

Marriott, 39, of Heathfield Road, Nottingham, admitted the thefts and breaches of court orders when she appeared in court on Wednesday.

She was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison and must pay £128 court costs.

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