A woman who broke into two houses and stole more than $20,000 of belongings has avoided time behind bars because the offending was “out of character”.
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Markayla Lindsay Reid, 29, received a suspended sentence and was ordered to perform 70 hours of community service, in the Launceston Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The Longford woman pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated burglary and stealing, along with drug and driving matters, at an earlier court appearance.
The court heard Reid’s marriage had ended, she had lost her job, and was associating with criminals during the period of her offending – between July and September last year.
Defence lawyer Fran McCracken said Reid’s recreational drug use led to an ice addiction.
She said Reid did “not shy away” from acknowledging her involvement in the burglaries but that the role of others “may have been larger”.
In sentencing, Magistrate Simon Brown said Reid was “swept up” in the offending during a short period of time.
“The most worrying are the dishonesty matters of breaking into two houses and stealing,” he said.
However, he said it was “out of character” and occurred during a “discrete period of time”.
Mr Brown said if the matters were not out of character, Reid could have been facing jail time.
“The community has an interest in rehabilitating people.”
The court heard Reid has since gained employment.
She received a three-month prison term wholly suspended for 18 months.
She was also ordered to perform 70 hours of community service.
