Tuggerah: Serial shoplifter Donna Maree Bateson slammed car boot on security guard’s head
A mother of four has pleaded guilty to slamming her car’s boot on the head of a security guard who was looking in to see what the serial shoplifter had stolen next, a court has heard.
Central Coast
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A woman has pleaded guilty to slamming her car’s boot on the head of a security guard after initially telling police the loss prevention officer was just being overly nosy.
Donna Maree Bateson, of Toukley, faced Wyong Local Court on Wednesday where she pleaded guilty to two counts of shoplifting, common assault, driving while suspended and driving with a special range prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA).
The court heard the mother of four children, who turns 44 on Thursday, was on two separate community correction orders for previous offences at the time.
An agreed set of facts states Bateson was captured on CCTV at Westfield Tuggerah placing items in a trolley and then walking out of two stores without paying shortly before 3pm on April 27.
She stole $98.40 worth of clothing and skincare products from Big W and $106.95 worth of goods from TK Maxx when two loss prevention officers approached her in the car park as Bateson was loading the stolen loot into the back of her purple Honda Odyssey.
“While speaking to [security guard one] and [guard two] at the rear of the vehicle, the accused has closed the boot of the vehicle,” the facts state.
“In doing this the accused has caused the boot of the vehicle to collide with the head of [security guard one] causing immediate pain. The accused then entered her vehicle and drove away.”
Police attended Bateson’s home on Main Rd, Toukley, a few days later and saw her purple car in the driveway.
Bateson confirmed she was the only one driving the car on the day of the incident but initially denied shoplifting.
“In relation to the assault on [security guard one] the accused stated ‘She was trying to get in my boot’,” the facts state.
“The accused denied hitting [the guard] with her boot.”
Almost a month later on May 30, Bateson was picked up driving while her P2 licence was suspended on Mary St, Gorokan, at 12.20pm after she turned down a couple of side streets for “no apparent reason other than to attempt to avoid police”.
She failed a roadside breath test and later recorded a “special range” reading of 0.013 given her limit was zero on her (suspended) provisional licence.
She was adjourned to undergo a sentence assessment report before she returns to court on July 24.
It comes after Bateson was sentenced to a 12-month intensive corrections order in March last year after pleading guilty to 29 counts of shoplifting more than $16,000 worth of power tools from Bunnings.
Her 18-page long criminal record was also tendered to court.
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