Woodridge woman Nicole Anne Hayward, 28, pleads guilty to two charges of stealing
A Logan woman used her five-year-old son as part of a ruse to shoplift more than $400 worth of goods, then launched a tirade against police which brought the centre to a standstill.
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A LOGAN woman used her five-year-old son to steal over $430 worth of goods from a shopping centre store in a scheme described as “concerning” by a magistrate.
Woodridge woman Nicole Anne Hayward, 28, aroused the suspicion of shoppers and employees at the Best and Less Logan Hyperdome store on November 6, 2018, when she was seen shovelling large amounts of clothing into her trolley, not bothering to check anything for sizing, a court heard today.
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Once she had filled the trolley, she got her five-year-old boy to wheel it out of the store while she selected an item of little worth and paid for it at the counter.
Police from the Logan Hyperdome beat were dispatched and Hayward was questioned about the contents of her trolley in the busy shopping centre aisle.
She became agitated and verbally abusive, according to police prosecutor Sen Constable Danielle Hill, who said Hayward’s behaviour caused many passing shoppers, including very young children and the elderly, to come to a standstill.
Hayward was handcuffed and taken to the police beat, where it was discovered she had stolen $453.75 from the store. All items were returned.
In a separate incident about a year later, on November 21, 2019, Hayward stole groceries from a Coles supermarket.
She was also charged with a failure to appear on November 15 last year.
Beenleigh magistrate Louise Shephard said the amount of clothing stolen from Best and Less was “significant” and it was a “concerning feature” she had used a five-year-old boy to facilitate that.
Hayward was placed on a 12-month probation order. Convictions were recorded.