Tammy Lee Burgess convicted of Priceline and OTR thefts
A drug-addicted Seaford Rise woman who used her wheelchair to hide stolen goods has faced court.
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A Seaford Rise woman who used her wheelchair to hide more than $350 worth of stolen goods has faced court.
Tammy Lee Burgess, 44, pleaded guilty to the January thefts in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The court heard on the first theft Burgess, another woman and two children entered the On The Run (OTR) service station at Old Reynella and stole $160 worth of items.
“The females and children took numerous items from the shelf and put them into the back of the wheelchair without making payment,” a police prosecutor said.
On the second occasion, Burgess, two women and three children entered a Priceline store and stole $208 worth of perfumes.
“A female in a wheelchair placed perfume items in the rear of her wheelchair concealing the items and left the store without making payment,” the police prosecutor said.
“She made full admissions to the theft, stating she was in a bad place at the time and was heavily using drugs.”
Defence lawyer Ross Colthorpe said Burgess was open about struggling with drug addiction for more than 20 years.
“It was that drug habit that she was using intravenously, she injected a dirty needle and that resulted in a blood infection and abscess son her spine that ended up bursting and damaging her spinal cord and now she’s in a wheelchair,” he said.
“I’m instructed the OTR items were food items and in relation to the perfume it was a drug related theft to sell for drugs.”
Magistrate Rodney Oates convicted Burgess and ordered she serve a 15-month $300 good behaviour bond.
She was also ordered to pay compensation to OTR and Priceline.