Keryn Margaret Atkinson fined for stealing from Gympie Vinnies
After stealing from a Gympie charity, a 49-year-old Rainbow Beach woman was so overcome with guilt she went back and donated to the store.
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A 49-year-old Rainbow Beach woman involved in stealing from a Gympie Vinnies donated $20 to the charity after she was caught on CCTV on May.
Keryn Margaret Atkinson appeared in Gympie Magistrates Court on Monday, where she pleaded guilty to stealing and failing to report to the Tin Can Bay police station to give identifying particulars.
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The police prosecutor told the court Atkinson and two others stole a table and a black suitcase from the shop on John St, and were caught on CCTV footage.
When police confronted her, she denied stealing anything and blamed the two other people for the theft.
“When shown the CCTV footage, the defendant admitted she was the person seen in the footage, sitting in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, collecting the table and suitcase and putting them in the vehicle,” the police prosecutor said.
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He said Atkinson told police she did not remember committing the crime, and the items were not in her possession.
She was on a suspended sentence at the time.
Defence lawyer Neesha Maidwell told the court her client regularly donated to charities and was so overcome with guilt, she went back to the shop and donated $20.
Ms Maidwell said her client was “hanging with a particularly dodgy group of people” at the time.
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Atkinson was fined $300, and her suspended sentence was extended by one month.
A conviction was recorded.
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Originally published as Keryn Margaret Atkinson fined for stealing from Gympie Vinnies
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