'Professional' Leeds shoplifter worked in gangs to steal fake tan, alcohol and clothes including at Trinity Leeds

Courtney Best from Belle Isle would target shops as part of as group in an effort to dupe staff and security, Leeds Crown Court heard.

The 25-year-old helped steal thousands of pounds of items from shops across West Yorkshire.

She and two other females first targeted a Boots store in March 2021, with one attempting to distract members of staff while the other grabbed bottles of fake tan worth around £500 worth and left the store before getting into a waiting Vauxhall Astra. A quick-thinking staff member was able to take down the registration number. Best was later arrested but gave no comment.

In June of 2021 she was part of a three-man team that targeted Sainsbury’s in Dewsbury. She helped fill a trolley with items before leaving the store emptyhanded. Another then took the trolley while the third person tried to distract staff on the customer service desk.

The alarm sounded as the trolley was pushed through the entrance doors, prosecutor Erin Kitson-Parker told the court. It was stacked with alcohol, ecigarettes, clothing and bedding worth £850. The suspects, including Best, were identified from the store’s CCTV.

The other man and woman received suspended sentences for their part.

Finally, on June 26, 2021, Best entered New Look in Trinity Leeds with a male. They began picking out clothes and hid them in a pushchair they had brought with them. They left the store but returned an hour later to steal more. They eventually got away with 11 sets of pyjamas worth £240. Again, they were later identified by CCTV.

Best, of Petersfield Avenue, admitted three counts of theft in total.

Mitigating, Adrian Pollard said since then Best had “taken the opportunity” to better herself, had enrolled in a college course and stayed out trouble, motivated by her fear of being jailed.

Judge Neil Clark gave her nine months’ jail, suspended for two years, and told her: “I think you deserve a chance, you have done very well, but do not mess it up.

"This was professional criminality and is serious offending of its type, but you have significantly altered your lifestyle for the better.”