Waterford court told woman was unaware items in her shopping bag had not been paid for
Waterford Courthouse.
A woman who claimed she was unaware of stolen items put in her shopping bag has had her case struck out at Waterford District Court.
Tanya Kett (33) of 33 Woodlawn Grove, Ballynaneashagh, was before Judge John Cheatle charged with theft contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 at Tesco, Ardkeen on July 17, 2025.
The court heard that on the day of the incident, two women entered the store.
They picked up items and used the self-service machines to pay for €81.59 worth of goods, but didn’t pay for the rest.
They then left in a vehicle and defendant was later identified from CCTV.
The court was told the defendant had six previous convictions, which included a current suspended sentence.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Ken Cunningham told the court that his client, who is pregnant, was in the company of a third party who was not identified.
He said that his client completed her shopping and paid, and the unidentified party put her shopping in the defendant’s bag.
The solicitor said his client was unaware that those items had not been paid for.
The defendant was identified because the car the two women left in belonged to her and the registration plate was captured on the CCTV.
However, Mr Cunningham said his client had brought €60 in compensation so the case could be brought to a conclusion and asked for the matter to be struck out.
Judge Cheatle said that in that situation, he would have known the items being put in his bag were not paid for.
But the judge struck out the matter and did not trigger the sentence.
