Woman threatened to throw glass of acid at shop staff – but it was cider
A drunk woman who was confronted by security guards at a shop threatened to throw a glass of cider over them, after claiming it was acid.
Gemma Hall, 32, was caught in the act while trying to steal from Farm Foods in Blyth, Northumberland, on September 29 last year.
But instead of putting the £15 of laundry detergent back on the shelf and leaving, she held up a jar of ‘yellow liquid’ and shouted: ‘I have acid, I’m going to throw it in your face.’
The staff at the shop believed her threat, and she was able to leave.
At a hearing this week, Paul Kennedy, defending, told South East Northumberland Magistrates’ Court the liquid in the jar was actually cider.
Hall went on to steal more booze from Blyth’s B&M store on October 3 and 8, then from Asda in the town on November 9.
She pleaded guilty to four counts of shop theft and one of common assault at the same court earlier this year, and the case was adjourned for sentence.
However, she failed to appear appear at the next court date, and stole again from Wilko and Spar in Blyth while a warrant was out for her arrest.
When she finally appeared in the dock in custody this week, she pleaded guilty to the two further shop theft offences.
Hall, from Blyth, was given a 14-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to pay a total of £300.97 in compensation to the stores she stole from.
Mr Kennedy told the court: ‘Her offending is alcohol-related.
‘There are periods of her life when she is offence-free and isn’t drinking alcohol but, when the pressure hits her, she goes back to drinking alcohol.
‘She is motivated to be rehabilitated.’
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