A 29 year old woman escaped a prison sentence at Enniskillen Magistrates court. Michelle Finnegan, Ballylurgan Fivemiletown, was given a four-month suspended sentence for handling stolen goods and fraud by false representation.

The court heard how on March 15 2016 that a vechicle had its back window broken and a number of items, including a capital one credit card belonging to Kathleeen Cassidy, stolen.

The court further heard how cctv footage later that night identified two females, on of them the defendant, attempting to use the card in a co-op in Fivemiletown.

When interviewed by the police Finnegan claimed that the other female had attempted to use the card.

Speaking on behalf of his client barrister Ciaran Roddy explained that Finnegan suffered from addiction and had fallen into a ‘bad peer group’ at the time of the incident while also pointing out that while it was quite clear that two people were involved in the offences that “only one had been brought to justice.”

He explained that there had been no further reoffences since and that his client had co-operated fully with her GP in seeking help for her addictions.

Mr Roddy said that his client had lived a somewhat “transient lifestyle” but that her living arrangements had improved and that she has recently been granted accommodation which he said would “hopefully copper fasten her already strong desire not to re-offend.”

He added that the defendant had a “real fear of returning to prison” and that he felt her new circumstances, allied with that fear would be a powerful motivation for the future.

District Judge Michael Ranahan in passing judgement said that it “appeared” that Finnegan had “significantly changed her lifestyle”. He imposed a fine of £100 for each of the offences along with a four month suspended sentence for each of the offences.