SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Theft from Yellowknife businesses is not a victimless crime, a judge told a 25-year-old woman who stole a $650 TV and four carts of groceries from Extra Foods on Old Airport Road.

"Certainly, that's more than shoplifting ... No business can afford that type of loss - $650 walking out the door," Judge Bernadette Schmaltz said. "It's not the loss of a dollar, or two, or three, or four. It's a $650 loss."

Shannon Hebert appeared in NWT territorial court Tuesday to face two theft charges. Her spouse and six-year-old daughter were in attendance to offer her support.

The first theft occurred April 28. An employee at Extra Foods saw Hebert, along with a man, leave the store with the TV and two carts full of unbagged groceries, Crown prosecutor Terri Nguyen told the court.

The two individuals were not apprehended and the carts of groceries were left behind; the TV was not.

Security footage was handed over to RCMP but officers could not identify the two. However, one of the officers who had viewed the tapes was off-duty at Extra Foods and saw two individuals leaving the store on May 1 with two carts of unbagged groceries, and the individuals matched the description of the people from the previous incident.

The two were arrested and the goods were later seized.

In thefts like these, said Nguyen, the victim is not just the business but the community at large.

"When you take products from a local store, prices go up for the rest of us," she said, adding few businesses in town can, or will want to, remain open when such thefts become a regular occurrence.

Defence attorney Dan Rideout said Hebert, who has a previous theft conviction from 2006, is trying to turn her life around and feels remorse for the incident.

She "has no explanation for the offence except she was making a very stupid mistake," he said.

"I would say the previous offence from January 2006 can be described as a stupid mistake," responded Schmaltz, adding the forethought and repetitiveness of the woman's current offences suggest "mistake" is too light a word.

She added she would have considered jail time for Hebert if the Crown had suggested it.

"If you have a six-year-old daughter, you should think about setting an example for her," said Schmaltz.

Hebert was sentenced to one year of probation. She cannot enter either Extra Foods store during the first six months of her probationary period. She must also complete 75 hours of community service and one day in jail, which was fulfilled by her appearance in court Tuesday.

She will also have to pay $325 for the TV, which wasn't recovered.

The other person involved in the incident did not show up for his July 28 court date. There is a warrant for his arrest.