Woman who stole €500 worth of goods from Penney’s Waterford appeals severity of sentence

A women who stole €500 worth of clothing from Penney’s, Barronstrand Street, Waterford, has had her eight month custodial sentence suspended for a period of two years following an appeal.

Tracy Carthy, Bay 9, St. Catherine’s, Wetlands, Kilkenny, stole the goods from the store in 2022.

She placed the goods in the bottom of a child’s buggy and left the store.

The store manager flagged the incident with a member of An Garda Siochana.

Ms. Carthy told gardaí it was her intention to return to the store to pay.

The goods were recovered.

Ms. Carthy has 48 previous convictions, 28 of which are for theft.

She appeared at Waterford Courthouse last week appealing the sentence of eight months imprisonment which she received for the crime. She wished to have the eight months varied to a non-custodial sentence.

In mitigation, Ms. Carthy’s defense counsel outlined that she entered an early guilty plea and all items were recovered in a re-salable condition.

Ms. Carthy’s probation report confirmed a number of personal difficulties she was experiencing at the time of the crime, including that she previously lived in a caravan which burnt down, leaving her homeless.

She has not come to gardaí attention since 2023 and she is addressing addiction issues.

Her defence said that following a "long list of previous offending" she has now "turned over a new leaf".

Judge Jennifer O’Brien suspended her eight month sentence in entirety for a period of two years.