Food Fight | 

Woman who ate from shop deli ‘boxed’ worker in the face when challenged

Ruth, also known as Michelle Harte, of no fixed address, had denied assault.

Today at 07:05

A woman who “boxed” a supermarket worker in the face after he told her to stop eating from the hot food counter has been jailed for three months.

Michelle Ruth (45) threw a punch at the security supervisor when he tried to escort her out of the shop for stealing the deli food by eating it before it was weighed.

Ruth, also known as Michelle Harte, of no fixed address, had denied assault.

But she admitted theft of food worth €8.50 in the incident.

She also pleaded guilty to associated public order charges of engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour as well as failing to follow garda directions.

Judge Bryan Smyth found her guilty of the assault, saying she reacted disproportionately.

Dublin District Court heard the incident happened at SuperValu, Talbot Street last November 11.

The victim told the court in evidence that Ruth got food and began eating it straight away, although it was supposed to be weighed before it was paid for.

He told the accused she should not be doing this and asked her to leave the shop. She was intoxicated and sat down, the victim said, and when she got up, he asked her to leave again and she “threw a box”, hitting him in the face.

He felt pain afterwards, he added.

Garda Adam Kelly said when he arrived, he was told that after Ruth was asked to stop eating food in the shop, she had continued to eat from multiple deli boxes, using her hands instead of the tongs provided.

Gda Kelly said the accused was visibly intoxicated, smelled of alcohol and was verbally abusive to him and customers. The accused was irate at having been stopped and failed to leave, continuing to be threatening and abusive, so the garda arrested her.

Defence solicitor Benedict O’Connor said Ruth would say she was acting in self defence because the victim was pushing her and being “overly forceful” to get her to leave.

Ruth, who did not go into evidence, believed she had to use force to “get him off her, to protect herself,” Mr O’Connor said.

The solicitor said it was “not a big blow,” to which the judge replied: “No, but it’s still a blow.” He found the facts against the accused proved.

Ruth had 177 previous convictions.

The accused was homeless, sleeping rough, had no money and was hungry on the day, Mr O’Connor said.

The accused had not had an easy life and had started taking heroin while still at school.

Judge Smyth said Ruth had a substantial number of previous convictions and he had no alternative but to jail her.

He set recognisances in the event of an appeal.