Jesse Blight and George Bachos appear in court after being arrested over shoplifting spree

A woman charged over a shoplifting spree across Adelaide with her partner is wanted for similar offending interstate, a court has heard.

A woman charged over a shoplifting spree across Adelaide alongisde her partner is wanted interstate for similar offending, a court has heard.

George Bachos, 38, of Unley and Jesse Blight, 33, of Hallet Cove appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday separately via video link from the City Watchhouse after being arrested in a city hotel on Tuesday.

Police will allege the couple stole products from retail shops before fraudulently attempting to return them for a refund at multiple stores across Adelaide.

They arecharged with seven counts each of deceiving another to benefit self or third person.

Mr Bachos did not apply for bail while Ms Blight asked the court to release her on home detention bail to live with her father at Royal Park.

A duty solicitor for Ms Blight said she had “been in a rather toxic relationship” with Mr Bachos for some time which had led to her drug abuse and spiralling mental health.

“Now that the co-accused has been remanded Ms Blight is seeing that as an opportunity to essentially break free and turn her life around with the support of her father,” she said.

He said Ms Blight was “extremely distressed” about the prospect of being remanded in custody.

Opposing her release on any form of bail prosecutor Mike Crampton said Ms Blight had 72 pending counts of deception in Victoria where he alleged “the same sort of offending” had occurred.

He siad she was also wanted on four active warrants in that state.

“She is a flight risk as she has fled Victoria,” he said.

The court also heard Mr Bachos is separately solely charged with more than 90 other counts across two other files.

Police will allege the couple’s joint offending occurred at multiple retail outlets around metropolitan Adelaide including at Smithfield, Noarlunga, Firle, Kilburn and Modbury.

Magistrate Justin Wickens said he would only consider Ms Blight’s release on strict home detention bail and ordered a report to consider the suitability of her father’s address.

“I am concerned that you have got those matters in Victoria and you’ve got those warrants in Victoria and that poses the possibility that you might try and run away from these matters as well.

“The only form of bail that I would be prepared to grant you would be home detention bail so that we know where you are at all times.”

She will return to court next week, while Mr Bachos did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody until his next court appearance in April.

The arrests were made as a result of an ongoing investigation into retail crime offending in the metropolitan area.

Police are continuing to investigate a spate of robberies in metropolitan Adelaide. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

The images of more than 60 suspected thieves were released in a new Crime Stoppers campaign – with one of the people identified even handing themselves into police.

More charges and arrests are expected as police work through security camera footage to identify repeat offenders as part of a specialised operation.

The campaign came as the number of thefts from shops reported to police spiked by almost 20 per cent – while other forms of theft all fell in the same time period.

Police statistics up until November 2022 showed there had been 13,567 thefts from shops in the 12 months since November 2021 – an increase of 2148 or 19 per cent.

Originally published as Jesse Blight and George Bachos appear in court after being arrested over shoplifting spree