KEY POINTS:
A Tauranga woman who stole a $1900 video camera from a neighbour's house after being invited to attend a gathering later returned for the charger.
But seasonal worker Alyse Maree Snowsill was scared off by the occupants. She tried to sell the camera but couldn't find a buyer so as a last resort took it to Cash Converters, where she received $150.
Snowsill, 20, yesterday appeared in Tauranga District Court and pleaded guilty to burglary and theft charges.
On June 2 Snowsill and her mother had been invited to a neighbourhood gathering at a Papamoa property and while there she took a camera.
It was once back at her mother's house that Snowsill realised the charger was missing so she went back to the retrieve it.
When spoken to by police, she admitted what she had done but stated she could not understand what the fuss was about.
"They invited me to their house, they have to expect it," Snowsill told an officer.
Solicitor Trever Leigh said it was Snowsill's first offences and the catalyst for her offending was a drug problem, which she was keen to deal with.
Judge Christopher Harding told Snowsill her comment to police that her neighbours should have expected to have been ripped off, was a "shocking" attitude to have.
She was sentenced her to 80 hours' community work and six months of supervision and must pay $150 reparation.
- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES
