Co Antrim woman accused of stealing over £70k in lottery scratch cards

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Paul Higgins

A Co Antrim woman has appeared in court today accused of stealing more than GBP70,000 of lottery scratch cards.

Standing at the rear of Lisburn Magistrates Court, 50-year-old Cheryl Agnes Laird confirmed she was aware of the single charge against her and that he had no objections to the case against her being returned to the Crown Court.

Laird, from Ashcroft Way in Lisburn, faces a single charge of theft by employee in that on dates between April 1, 2018, and September 27, 2020, she "stole lottery scratch cards to the value of GBP72,693 or thereabouts belonging to Centra Ballinderry Ltd."

None of the alleged facts surrounding the charge were opened by the prosecution but their lawyer submitted there is a Prima Facie case against the alleged thief, a submission which was conceded by the defence.

The court clerk told Laird that although not obliged to, she had the right to comment on the charges and to call evidence to the court on her own behalf but she declined to say anything.

Returning the case to Craigavon Crown Court, District Judge Rosie Watters freed Laird on her own bail of GBP500 and scheduled the arraignment to be heard on January 25.