Corio woman Tiffany Coles theft spree ends in security guard assault

A magistrate said he was “concerned” about a Corio woman who assaulted a security guard when he caught her stealing.

Tiffany Coles sprayed an unknown liquid on a security guard who caught her stealing. Picture: Supplied.

A Corio nanny who treated herself to a shopping spree on a five-finger discount and then assaulted a security guard ranted to a magistrate about her long list of excuses.

Tiffany Coles, 28, said a relationship breakdown, a family member’s medical issues and financial difficulty were the reasons she turned back to stealing from a number of Geelong shops after last year being given a chance to reform in the community.

The Geelong Magistrates Court heard Coles also claimed she did not have a phone to get in touch with corrections officers.

Coles pleaded guilty to breaching a community corrections order, theft, assaulting and possessing a drug of dependence in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday morning.

The court heard Coles was busted stealing a phone charger and power bank from a Newcomb Apco service station in July 2022.

Later that month, Coles was spotted rifling through a Newcomb Woolworths by a security guard who followed her around the store.

The guard then waited by the self-serve check-out and stopped Coles as she attempted to leave without paying.

Tiffany Coles stole from a number of shops in Corio Village. Picture: Facebook.

When he asked to look into her bag, Coles refused, called him a “f------ c---”, pushed past him, and hit him on the right shoulder.

The security guard found her sitting on a nearby bench and asked her to leave, but Coles sprayed an unknown liquid on him twice.

Coles was originally placed on a community corrections order for the thefts but returned to the court on Monday for a re-sentence and to face new theft charges.

In January this year, Coles stole a number of items from the Chemist Warehouse, Reject Shop, Kmart and Woolworths in Corio Village.

The items were worth around $265, the court was told.

When police found her at the bus stop outside the shopping centre, Coles attempted to run from them.

Her lawyer, Tania Tringali, said Coles was working as a nanny of five children but struggled financially when they went back to school.

Ms Tringali said Coles wanted to be placed back on a community corrections order “to receive help through the correct avenues”.

Magistrate Peter Mellas said Coles “really concerns me”.

“The original community corrections order that you were put on and agreed to do was breached on more than one occasion,” Mr Mellas said.

“You got in more trouble as you’ve gone along.”

Mr Mellas added it was “interesting” she was working with children.

“If there’s any group in society that can press someone’s buttons, it’s children, let alone having responsibility for five,” he said.

Coles will return to court at a later date for sentencing after she is assessed for another community corrections order.

Originally published as Corio woman Tiffany Coles theft spree ends in security guard assault