A pregnant porn star used an empty pram to steal from supermarkets during a shoplifting operation to fund her cocaine addiction and took a £2,500 diamond ring from a jewelery shop after swapping it for a £30 counterfeit, a court heard .
Roma Lawson, 34, attacked several stores over a five-week period beginning in April when she took items from Aldi’s cold 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, stuffed another six bottles of vodka into an empty pram. She used the same method to steal from a Tesco store.
She admitted six charges of shoplifting before magistrates and asked that one additional charge be considered.
Lawson, who was already serving a suspended sentence, was given an additional four 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 operation to fund her cocaine addiction and took a £2,500 diamond ring from a jewelery shop after switching it with a £30 counterfeit , a court heard
Lawson, from Herne Bay, Kent, admitted six counts of shoplifting before magistrates at Canterbury Crown Court (pictured) and asked that one additional count be considered
Prosecutor Ben Wild told the court how Lawson would “sometimes” use an empty stroller to carry out her thefts, but “sometimes she used a bag for life.”
“Sometimes she seems to be collaborating with other people to commit the crimes,” he added.
Lawson’s theft continued in May when she stole pet food from Tesco Express, as well as facial cleansers and a candle from Aldi.
She then tried to trick a pawnbroker out of a £2,500 ring in an elaborate scam.
The court heard on May 27 that she entered Claybrook’s jewelry store in Herne Bay and asked to see a diamond-encrusted band she had pawned months earlier.
Mr Wild said Lawson then exchanged the 14-carat ring – worth £2,500 – for one worth just £30 before leaving the store.
The court heard Lawson committed her final offenses while serving an eight-month suspended sentence.
A judge had spared her jail 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 was high on cocaine and tried to escape by running half naked. She then sank her teeth into the officer after running through the streets.
Lawson’s theft continued in May when she stole pet food from Tesco Express, as well as facial cleansers and a candle from Aldi. She then tried to trick a pawnbroker out of a £2,500 ring in an elaborate scam. In the photo: Roma Lawson
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, cared for her ailing mother for a long time and has been in toxic relationships on a number of occasions in which she was a victim of domestic violence.
“The report also tells us about her cocaine use – it started intermittently but unfortunately turned into a serious addiction.
“The spate of shoplifting is over a five-week period.
“She lived with her partner, she got pregnant and shortly after that her partner was taken into custody and then her mother’s health deteriorated.
“She’s due in October.”
While awaiting sentence on bail, she was barred from entering retail premises in Herne Bay.
The court heard that her suspended sentence put her at risk of immediate custody for her previous crimes, on top of potentially more jail time.
But recorder Edmund Fowler decided not to jail Lawson. He told her, “Your dependence on drugs, I believe, is at the heart of your chaotic lifestyle.
“I believe it would be unfair to trigger your suspended sentence, but I’m going to extend it.”
The court heard Lawson (pictured) committed her latest offenses while serving an eight-month suspended sentence
A judge had spared Lawson jail (pictured) 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 was high on cocaine and tried to escape by running half naked. She then sank her teeth into the officer after running through the streets
He added four months to Lawson’s eight-month suspended sentence and extended her time out of trouble from 18 months to two years.
Lawson was also ordered to complete six months of rehab and pay £154 in costs, although she was not specifically made to pay back the shops she stole from.
She is also no longer barred from entering stores in her hometown.
The judge warned Lawson, “You now have a 12-month prison sentence hanging over your head for the next two years. Put one foot wrong and as sure as night follows day, you go to prison.’
Lawson was also ordered to complete six months of rehab and pay £154 in costs, although she was not specifically made to pay back the shops she stole from.