Six members of the same family from Dublin, who stole over £10,000 worth of goods during a shoplifting spree in Bangor last weekend, have been sent to prison.
Derek Joyce, 39, John Joyce, 30, Kathleen Joyce, 29, Katrina Joyce, 28, David Joyce, 34, and Shauna Joyce, 32, all pleaded guilty to stealing £1,126 worth of clothes from River Island in Bangor, but other items worth more than £10,000, including boxes of Lego, Dolls and various other toys, were found in their cars when they were arrested on their way back to Holyhead port.
David, Katrina, and Derek Joyce were each jailed for eight weeks and the others, who all had previous convictions, were jailed for 18 weeks
District Judge Gwyn Jones, at Llandudno Magistrates’ court, said: “They had clearly travelled across borders into Northern Ireland and into North Wales with the intention of shoplifting and carried equipment to remove security tags from items.
He told all three couples: “You all played an important part in what was quite a sophisticated and professional shoplifting venture which resulted in high-value goods being stolen. You were clearly acting as a pack.”
North Wales Police Tweeted: “Over the weekend a family of 6 people went on a shoplifting spree in Bangor. We know Christmas is a time to be with family so we’ve arranged for them all to be together…….in prison.”
Photo: North Wales Police
