Drug addict hotel thief awaits sentence
A young mother, who teamed up with an accomplice to steal the possessions of guests staying at top London hotels to feed her heroin habit, was last week remanded in custody to await sentence.
Twenty-eight-year-old Sharon Pauley had been stealing from top hotels, including the Swan International and the Strand Palace Hotel, to maintain a £3,000-a-week heroin and crack cocaine habit.
She was caught stealing a handbag and contents, worth £500, from Marylou Heatherly at the Swallow International hotel in Earls Court last November.
Pauley and her accomplice would target the hotels at certain times of day when there would be more potential victims milling around foyer areas.
Defence lawyer Suzanne Palmer asked for bail on behalf of Pauley, who pleaded guilty to theft, saying she had an 11-month-old baby to look after. But magistrate Rosamond Keating said: "She's not fit to look after a child if she is addicted to taking £3,000-worth of heroin a week."
