Pregnant porn star, 34, used an empty pram to steal from supermarkets during shoplifting spree to fund her cocaine addiction – and swiped £2,500 ring from jewellery store after switching it with a £30 fake
- Roma Lawson, 34, admitted six counts of shoplifting before magistrates
- She was handed a suspended sentence and must stay out of trouble for 2 years
A pregnant porn star used an empty pram to steal from supermarkets during a shoplifting spree to fund her cocaine addiction and swiped a £2,500 diamond ring from a jewellery store after switching it with a £30 fake, a court heard.
Roma Lawson, 34, targeted various stores over a five-week period beginning in April, when she swiped items from Aldi’s chiller aisle.
Days later, she raided Sainsbury’s by stuffing bottles of gin and whiskey into her handbag without paying, before returning to the store a week later, Canterbury Crown Court heard on Friday.
Lawson, of Herne Bay, Kent, who works under the name Romana Ryder, bundled a further six bottles of vodka into an empty pram. She used the same method to steal from a Tesco store.
She admitted six counts of shoplifting before magistrates and asked for one additional count to be taken into consideration.
Lawson, who was already serving a suspended sentence, was given four months additional months to her suspended sentence. The judge also extended the period she must stay out of trouble from 18 months to two years.
Roma Lawson, 34, (pictured) used an empty pram to steal from supermarkets during a shoplifting spree to fund her cocaine addiction and swiped a £2,500 diamond ring from a jewellery store after switching it with a £30 fake, a court heard
Lawson, of Herne Bay, Kent, admitted six counts of shoplifting before magistrates at Canterbury Crown Court (pictured) and asked for one additional count to be taken into consideration
Ben Wild, prosecuting, told the court how Lawson on ‘some occasions’ would use an empty pram to carry out her thefts, but ‘sometimes she used a bag for life’.
‘Sometimes she appears to have been working with other people to carry out the offences,’ he added.
Lawson’s thieving continued in May when she stole pet food from Tesco Express, as well as facial cleansers and a candle from Aldi.
She then attempted to dupe a pawnbroker out of a £2,500 ring in an elaborate scam.
The court heard on May 27 she entered Claybrooks jewellers in Herne Bay and asked to see a diamond-encrusted band she had pawned months earlier.
Mr Wild said Lawson then switched the 14-carat ring – valued at £2,500 – for one worth just £30 before leaving the shop.
The court heard Lawson committed her latest offences while subject to an eight-month suspended prison sentence.
A judge had spared her prison earlier this year when she bit a police officer after she was arrested on suspicion of drug-driving after crashing her car into a van.
She had been high on cocaine and tried to escape by running off half-naked. She then sunk her teeth into the officer after running through the streets.
Lawson’s thieving continued in May when she stole pet food from Tesco Express, as well as facial cleansers and a candle from Aldi. She then attempted to dupe a pawnbroker out of a £2,500 ring in an elaborate scam. Pictured: Roma Lawson
READ MORE: Porn star crashed her vehicle into a van while high on cocaine and managed to escape from a police car and run through the streets half-naked
Ian Bond, in mitigation for Lawson, said the thefts came at a stressful time in her life.
Mr Bond told the court: ‘She has had socio-economic problems, has spent considerable periods of time caring for her sick mother, and on a number of times has been in toxic relationships where she has been the victim of domestic violence,.
‘The report also tells us about her cocaine use – it started off as an occasional thing, but sadly then became a serious addiction.
‘The spate of shoplifting is over a five-week period.
‘She had been living with her partner, she fell pregnant and shortly thereafter her partner was remanded in custody and then her mother’s health took a turn for the worse.
‘She’s due to have her baby in October.’
While on bail awaiting sentence she was banned from entering any retail premises in Herne Bay.
The court heard her suspended sentence breach placed her at risk of immediate custody for her previous offences, on top of possibly more jail time.
But Recorder Edmund Fowler, decided against jailing Lawson. He told her: ‘Your reliance on drugs in my view lies at the heart of your chaotic lifestyle.
‘I have taken the view that it would be unjust to activate your suspended sentence, but I am going to extend it.’
The court heard Lawson (pictured) committed her latest offences while subject to an eight-month suspended prison sentence
A judge had spared Lawson (pictured) prison earlier this year when she bit a police officer after she was arrested on suspicion of drug-driving after crashing her car into a van. She had been high on cocaine and tried to escape by running off half-naked. She then sunk her teeth into the officer after running through the streets
He added four months to Lawson’s eight-month suspended sentence and extended the period she must stay out of trouble from 18 months to two years.
Lawson was also ordered to complete six months of drug rehabilitation and pay £154 in costs, although she was not specifically made to repay the shops from which she stole.
She is also no longer barred from entering stores in her hometown.
The Judge warned Lawson: ‘You have now got a 12-month sentence hanging over you for the next two years. Put a foot wrong and as sure as night follows day, you will go to prison.’
Lawson was also ordered to complete six months of drug rehabilitation and pay £154 in costs, although she was not specifically made to repay the shops from which she stole.
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