By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A 40-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars of clothes and groceries in a series of brazen shop-thefts.
Kim Tatchell had filled two supermarket bags with clothes and make-up valued at more than $1100 during a shoplifting spree at three Fountain Gate shopping-centre outlets on 9 April, a court heard.
She then threatened a pursuing security officer by saying: “Yeah, I’m carrying a f***ing gun.”
Police found Tatchell with the stolen goods at a fast-food restaurant that afternoon.
She was arrested on three outstanding warrants, telling police she stole the clothes to sell them off for money.
The clothes were returned to the stores by police.
Tatchell also stole $177 of groceries by filling up bags from a Dandenong supermarket’s gift-wrapping section in September, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court was told on 10 April.
She told police she’d originally sought to steal food but “ended up getting lots of other stuff”.
A similar method was used by her to steal 35 clothing items – valued at $1360 – from a Frankston Myer store on 17 January.
In September, Tatchell was arrested at home while wearing white lingerie shorts she stole from Waverley Gardens Shopping Centre the day before.
The price tag was still attached to the shorts at the time.
Tatchell’s lawyer told the court that the accused sought a treatment-based order for a significant relapse into heroin and amphetamines.
She had previously been on corrections orders in 2009 and 2015.
Magistrate Doug Bolster put Tatchell on a 12-month corrections order with supervision, 75 hours of community work, as well as drug testing and treatment.
He ordered the lingerie shorts to be forfeited to the state.
