By FARRAH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
AN HABITUAL offender who stole money from two elderly women after offering to give them rides had her case adjourned to September pending an evaluation from the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.
Anastacia Moree, 41, was arrested after she pickpocketed $180 from Agnus Gilbert on May 4. Police said the accused also stole another $300 from Ruth Mae Adderley two weeks later on May 18.
The court was told that both of the crimes were committed after Moree offered to give the women rides when she saw them walking outside of Marathon Mall.
When she first appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis she admitted to the offences. However, after considering the accused’s “long history” of stealing and forgery, the magistrate said he would have the Department of Social Services prepare a report to assist the court in determining an appropriate punishment for her.
When a representative from the department gave a probation report yesterday, she said their findings revealed that Moree needed counseling as they believed a custodial sentence had not helped to deter her behaviour in the past.
The probation officer also noted that Moree had already spent time in prison for offences of a similar nature that she had committed on multiple occasions spanning over a decade.
In 2004, the accused was convicted of stealing and forgery. In 2010, she found herself back before the courts for five counts of stealing and returned two years later, this time, charged with stealing by reason of employment. In 2016 and 2017, she was convicted of stealing and violating her bail conditions respectively, and in 2019, she was found guilty of stealing, forgery and fraud by false pretences.
Moree’s most recent offence occurred near CIBC FirstCarribean’s Marathon Mall branch. The court was told that Moree asked Ms Gilbert if she needed a lift. When the woman accepted her offer of a ride, the accused stole $180 out of her pocket while she was seated in her vehicle.
The accused was said to have repeated the same scheme in the exact same area two weeks later when Ms Adderley agreed to “catch a ride” with her. This time, the prosecution said the accused went into the complainant’s bag and stole $300.
Yesterday, Moree said she was not oblivious to her behaviour and took full accountability for her actions. Nonetheless, she said she believed her problem was “something that went beyond her”.
As a result, Magistrate Rolle Davis said he would adjourn her case until September 1 so that a second evaluation could be conducted by doctors at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.
Moree was remanded into custody until that time.
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