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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A woman who pleaded guilty to shoplifting from Reitmans was given a stern scolding by Judge Bernadette Schmaltz during her sentencing Jan. 25, but received no jail time.

Video surveillance from Sept. 21 showed the 23-year-old trying on a pair of boots and a brown jacket and then passing the items to a friend, who put them in her purse and walked out of the store a few minutes later. The offender left the store shortly thereafter.

Crown prosecutor Danielle Vaillancourt said as far as she knew the offender's accomplice was never identified.

"Her name is still unknown to me," she said.

Vaillancourt told the court many businesses in Yellowknife are subject to these types of offences and suffer greatly from them.

Defence attorney Stephen Shabala told the court his client should be given credit for changing her plea before trial and asked Schmaltz to be mindful of his client's plans to travel overseas for two to three months at the end of January. Schmaltz told the offender that the appearance of planning and working together was an aggravating feature of the case.

"If you had a record for this type of offence you'd be going to jail," she said.

Schmaltz imposed a $400 fine for the shoplifting conviction and a $60 victim of crime surcharge. She also ordered the woman to pay $173.25, the value of the shoplifted items, which were never recovered.

The offender will also be on probation for one year, during which she is required to be of good behaviour and is forbidden from entering Reitmans.

Schmaltz told the woman, who has a previous criminal record, to consider the effect her criminal record has on her life, such as impeding her journey through customs when travelling.

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