A man from Western Sydney, charged with stealing a torch from a Mudgee store, was told that with his record it's not the sale price he can't afford.
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Michael Hooper of Liddle Street, North St Marys, was sentenced to a 12-month Community Corrections Order for the charge of 'Larceny value under/equal to $2000'.
At 11.18am on Monday, February 11, 2019, Hooper entered the store, looked at one of the torches, then at the price and put it back onto the display.
He then wandered around the shop and returned to the stand, removed one of the torches and concealed it within his pants as he walked out.
The incident was captured on CCTV.
When ordering the defendant to pay compensation of $149.95, Magistrate David Day noted, "it was an expensive torch".
Furthermore, he told Hooper - who appeared in court via Audio Visual Link, having had his parole revoked - "you've got a bad record, particularly in the last 10 years".
The 38-year-old told his honour, "you won't hear from me again". However Magistrate Day's expectations were tempered, responding "I've heard that before".