Charge over Wick tattoo shop theft reduced from £3000 to £30
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A woman charged with a £3000 theft from a tattoo shop in Wick got the amount drastically reduced to £30.
The massive reduction surprised Sheriff Ian Miller at the town's sheriff court on Thursday.
It followed normal pre-court plea-bargaining between Fiscal David Barclay and solicitor Sylvia Maclennan. The result was that the accused, Billiejo Longstaff, received a lower fine of £150.
Longstaff (37) was originally charged with having committed the theft of £3000 from the Tat-or-Too shop at the Wick Airport Industrial Estate, between April 1 and July 2021 but this was also amended to a single date, July 20, 2021.
Fiscal David Barclay said that it was noted that receipts had fallen short by £30. It didn't take long for the culprit to be identified as CCTV footage showed Longstaff removing sums from the cash box at intervals and putting them in her pocket.
The police were informed and the accused, a nail technician, made a "no comment" response when interviewed.
Mr Barclay said that the outcome was "a slightly different" amount in the charge.
Sheriff Miller commented: "I think it is fair to say the charge has practicably disappeared."
He added: "I am intrigued to know what evidence supported the original liable but it is not for me to question."
Solicitor Miss Maclennan said that Longstaff was "thoroughly ashamed" of her actions and added: "She tells me that she was struggling with financial and relationship difficulties at the time."
The solicitor continued: "She consulted me at an early stage and accepted that the matter was going to end up in court. There has been a significant amount of correspondence involved in trying to resolve this case."
Sheriff Miller took into account that Longstaff wasn't working and had family commitments.
In addition, to the fine, Longstaff must pay the Tat-or-Too shop compensation of £30.
She was staying in Wick at the time of the theft but had since moved to Heathryfold Circle, in Aberdeen, in order to make a fresh start.
