Two thieving sisters have been barred from Tesco Express in Blidworth after a nasty attack on the store manager. Mother-of-three Crystal Smith, 31, was in the store on Saturday, April 16, last year when she selected watermelon slices and passed them to her younger sister, Indiana Smith, who is 19.
Indiana put the fruit in a black Tote bag. But, when they tried to leave, they were confronted by store manager Bethany Pickering. She described the older of the two barging past her and making contact shoulder-to-shoulder, Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard.
Crystal Smith, who is pregnant with her fourth child, took a safety knife from the manager's pocket and pointed it at her, while Indiana removed the watermelon slices from her bag and a Pukka pie. The items, worth £5, were passed the manager, before Indiana pushed her with both hands to her upper body and left the store, swinging her fist to Miss Pickering's face a couple of times.
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Indiana called her an offensive name, which prosecutor Faith Rowan described as a homophobic comment, and District Judge Leo Pyle regarded it as a "hate crime". Both women pleaded guilty to theft and assaulting the manager at an earlier hearing.
On Tuesday (January 3) the judge told Crystal, who lives at the same address as her sister, in Oak Avenue, Blidworth, she had taken a safety knife and waved it at the manager. "Your sister resorted to violence coupled with homophobic abuse.
"Both of you have responsibilities to your children and you have issues in your lives - but in no way does that excuse your behaviour on this occasion". Crystal Smith received 24 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, with 20 rehabilitation days, costs order of £85, victim surcharge of £95, and to pay compensation of £150. She was banned from the Blidworth store, in Mansfield Road, for one year, along with her sister.
Indiana received 24 weeks in youth custody, suspended for 12 months, 20 rehabilitation activity days, a compensation order of £150, a victim surcharge of £95 and costs order of £85.
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