Chemist Warehouse thief Racheal Anne Ward narrowly avoids jail time in the Gladstone Magistrates Court

The serial thief received a suspended sentence after stealing perfume from a Gladstone chemist.

Racheal Anne Ward, 29, pleaded guilty to stealing after previous conviction in the Gladstone Magistrates Court on Friday.Â

A Gladstone woman with a checkered criminal history including fraud and burglary offences was back before the court on Friday.

Racheal Anne Ward, 29, pleaded guilty to stealing after a previous conviction in the Gladstone Magistrates Court.

On June 17, around 2.30pm, Ward entered Chemist Warehouse on the Dawson Highway, Clinton and spent several minutes browsing various items.

She picked up a perfume box, removed the packaging from it and placed one piece of the box in her handbag and the other under her arm.

Ward walked from the store without making an attempt to pay for the box and staff called police after they identified the offence via CCTV.

On June 30, around 7.45am, police questioned Ward on the incident, however, she did not believe she failed to pay for the perfume set.

Police advised Ward the footage clearly showed her movements within the store and at no point did she make any attempt to pay before leaving the store.

Ward was subsequently issued a notice to appear in the Gladstone Magistrates Court.

Prosecutor Kelvin Boyd said Ward’s criminal history contained previous offences such as stealing and burglary in the past five years.

Acting Magistrate John Milburn convicted and sentenced Ward to one-month imprisonment, wholly suspended for 12 months. A conviction was recorded.