Shoplifters commercial haul was worth £366

Concern expressed over Lithuanian's status

A SHERIFF expressed concern yesterday about a Lithuanian immigrant who came all the way north from Aberdeen to Wick where she committed a second shoplifting offence.
Sheriff Andrew Berry made the comment after Rita Smetonyte, 26, admitted stealing razor blades and toothpaste from the Co-op store in the Caithness town, when she appeared from custody at Wick Sheriff Court.
The court was told that she had arrived in the country only a fortnight ago, prompting Sheriff Andrew Berry to wonder about “her entitlement to be in this country.”
It was stated that Smetonyte, accompanied by a male companion, was caught removing the goods, on Thursday, and putting them into a bag. The items, valued at £366 were not recovered and the companion has not been traced.
Solicitor Neil Wilson said that Smetonyte had come to Scotland to find work and was staying with friends in Menzies Road, Aberdeen.
The accused had a conviction for an earlier shoplifting offence, in the city only two days earlier.
Mr Wilson said that given the nature of the charge, he had to accept that the Wick crime was “shoplifting on a commercial scale”.
Senior fiscal depute, David Barclay said he didn’t have any information about Smetonyte’s residential status but suggested that, as the accused was a Lithuanian, she would be entitled to be in Scotland.
He added: “There does not appear to be any suggestion that she is here illegally.”
Sheriff Berry told the accused, through an interpreter: “I have some concern about the background to this matter. You have a shoplifting conviction in Aberdeen two days ago and you immediately come to this part of Scotland and commit an identical crime.”
Smetonyte was sentenced to carry out 60 hours unpaid community work to be completed within three months. The order has been transferred to Aberdeen Sheriff Court.