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Heroin addict who robbed pensioner (82) after she ‘barged’ into his home spared jail

‘She has no real memory of this incident but she has asked me to convey her apologies to the victim’

Today at 13:44

A Co. Down heroin addict who stole £85 from a man in his 80’s after she “barged” her way into his home was handed a suspended jail sentence today..

Appearing at Newtownards Magistrates Court by videolink from the women’s prison, 30-year-old Rebecca Whyte was charged with a single count of burglary on 29 July this year.

Whyte, from Beechfield Drive in Donaghadee, confirmed she wanted to be dealt with by the Magistrates Court and that she was entering a guilty plea to the offence.

A prosecuting lawyer told the court that just after his carer’s had left the home of home of the 82-year-old victim on Ashfield Drive in Donaghadee, Whyte “barged her way in” and refused to leave.

When she eventually did, she had stolen £85 in cash and lodging a plea in mitigation, defence counsel Stuart Magee revealed that Whyte had been on a heroin substitute program at the time but had relapsed into drug use.

“She has no real memory of this incident but she has asked me to convey her apologies to the victim,” said the barrister.

District Judge Jonathan Connolly imposed a nine month jail sentence, suspended for three years and warned Whyte she would have to serve that if she reoffended in that time.