Holly May Croker: Woman blames meth addiction for violent Australia Fair robbery

A woman threatened and struck a chemist employee to carry out a brazen robbery in the middle of a popular shopping centre. Read what happened in court.

The exterior of an aging Australia Fair shopping centre at Southport. Picture Glenn Hampson

A woman has blamed meth addiction for a violent robbery in which she “bitch-slapped” a store employee at a busy Gold Coast shopping centre, a court has been told.

Holly May Croker entered the Terry White Chemmart in Australia Fair about 10.20am on April 28, where she was spotted by a fellow shopper slipping a $109 bottle of Marc Jacobs perfume in her bag.

Southport District Court was told the 20-year-old was stopped by an employee at the door as she tried to leave, where she refused to hand over her bag for a search.

Prosecutor Aleesha Buckby said Croker was asked to give back the perfume, which she again refused and said, “I’m not getting charged for this.”

She said Croker pushed past the Terry White employee and tried to flee the area, but the other woman cut her off.

“The (victim) held her hand out and told her to return the perfume and then she would let her go, but (Croker) said, ‘Get out of my way, I’m going to hit you c**t’,” Ms Buckby said.

Croker then slapped the woman across the face, forcing the victim to retreat back to her workplace.

She made off with the stolen perfume, which was never recovered.

Ms Buckby said the victim went to her doctor later that day and reported significant neck pain and soreness.

The court heard Croker was tracked down by police the next day, where she admitted she “bitch-slapped” her victim because she would not let her leave.

Parts of the Terry White employee’s victim impact statement were read to the court, revealing she still struggled with pain and had difficulty sleeping weeks after the robbery.

“Since the offending, she said she felt quiet, sad, anxious, and detached emotionally,” Ms Buckby said.

“She writes about contemplating changing professions … she had lost her passion, edge, and ability to connect with people in a personal way.”

Croker appeared in court with a lengthy criminal history, including previous assaults on shop assistants who caught her stealing.

The court was told Croker was “hopelessly addicted” to methamphetamines at the time after growing up around her mother’s own drug use, and had also been struggling through periods of homelessness and an abusive ex-partner.

Croker had used her time in pre-sentence custody to get clean and planned to live with her father and his wife at the Sunshine Coast to get her life back on track, the court was told.

Croker pleaded guilty to one count of robbery with personal violence.

She was sentenced to 12 months’ jail with immediate release on parole.