Staff forced to chase woman through Kingaroy shopping centre after bolting with trolley filled with nearly $500 unpaid groceries

A Kingaroy woman told police she stole nearly $500 worth of Woolworths groceries so she could contribute to the household she was living in.

Lisa-Marree Scheikowski told police she stole nearly $500 worth of Woolworths groceries so she could contribute to the household. File Photo.

Woolworths staff were forced to chase a woman through a Kingaroy shopping centre after she filled a trolley with groceries and made her escape through the self-checkout without paying.

After loading a trolley to the brim with $473 worth of product at 3pm on May 8, Lisa-Marree Scheikowski fled Kingaroy Woolworths through the self check-out section without attempting to pay, police prosecutor Sergeant Pepe Gangemi told the court.

Scheikowski ran through the centre toward the exit while being pursued by staff, eventually deciding to cut her losses by abandoning the trolley and leaving through the Shopping World carpark.

Sergeant Gangemi said the incident was captured by CCTV footage.

Standing before Kingaroy Magistrates Court, Scheikowski pleaded guilty to stealing.

Scheikowski was represented by Tom Carr, who said his client was suffering from “significant financial difficulties at the time of the incident” and regrets her decision.

“She was staying with her mother in law. She couldn‘t afford rent or groceries, and she tried to take them so she could contribute to the household,” he said.

Magistrate Andrew Sinclair convicted and fined Scheikowski $500, which was referred to SPER.

“It seems likely that most of the value of the groceries were recovered, but it‘s a very large amount of material to steal, and no matter how desperate people are, stealing is not the correct response,” Mr Sinclair said.

No conviction was recorded.