A Gulgong woman charged with stealing a purse and using the victim’s bank card to do her grocery shopping – while on a suspended jail sentence for a similar offence last year – was jailed when she appeared in Mudgee Local Court last Wednesday.
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Kamarah Riley, aged 33, of Lynne Street, Gulgong, was sentenced to one month imprisonment for the charges of “Larceny value less than/equal to $2000” and “Dishonestly obtain property by deception”.
On Wednesday, May 18, 2016, the victim – a school teacher – left her handbag in the classroom at the conclusion of school that day at about 3.25pm while she attended to work at another location.
At about 4.40pm she returned and noticed that her purse was missing from the bag.
The victim then checked her bank account via online banking and saw that a $94.45 purchase was made at the IGA supermarket at 4.18pm.
She then contacted her bank to report the card stolen and called the police.
Another teacher later told her that they’d seen Riley hanging around the room that afternoon.
Riley used the card’s Paywave function to buy the groceries.
A staff member at the supermarket recognised her from her mugshot on the Mudgee Local Area Command Facebook page from earlier in the month when a warrant was out for her arrest.
She was also shown on the store’s CCTV.
The purse had a value of $200.
At the time of the incident Riley was serving an 18-month suspended jail sentence for similar offences.
In late August and early September 2015, a different victim lost her purse which contained her credit card.
When she became aware she contacted her bank who said a number of transactions had been made.
The victim went to police and after conducting enquiries officers found a number of people from Gulgong involved in the incident including Riley.
She and the several other defendants had used the card to make separate series of purchases totaling into thousands of dollars.
She was also ordered to pay over $5000 in compensation for that offence when it was finalised in Mudgee Local Court on Thursday, March 10, 2016.
The matter was listed for appeal in May, however when Riley failed to appear a warrant was issued for her arrest which was carried out the same day.
She was placed on further good behaviour bonds when she appeared in Wellington Local Court on Tuesday, May 17, 2016.
This was one day before Riley stole the purse and committed the latest offence.
