The violent thief sister of a man whose young partner died tragically near the M9 in October blamed a crime spree on the "impact on her" of the fatality.
Shannon Prow, 28, stole a bagful of perfume bottles from Boots and assaulted a female shop worker in a bid to escape with the loot - just over three weeks after the death of "loyal Rangers fan" Courtney McNiven, 24, on October 9th.
Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that Prow was seen by a store detective to enter Boots, on Falkirk's Central Retail Park on November 1st, and head for the perfume display.
Prosecutor Sarah Smith said: "She was seen to put a number of perfume gift boxes into a shopping bag. She made her way through the point of payment and she was intercepted at the door."
Prow then began to argue with the store worker and "threw punches at her".
Miss Smith said: "The witness tried to stop the accused from leaving the store, at which point the accused grabbed her by the hair and struck her head on the till."
A retail park security guard then arrived on the scene.
Miss Smith said: "The accused began shouting and swearing at all employees in attendance at the incident. She said, 'I'm going to knife you' and 'You f****** P*** b******'."
Police were contacted and arrested Prow nearby.
Miss Smith said: "At that point the accused appeared to suffer from some sort of seizure and as a result medical assistance was sought."
Later charged with shoplifting, Prow told police: "It ended up a fight with five of them, so I didn't get the stuff out the shop."
Charged with assault, she said: "I jumped towards her but I never hit her."
Prow of Bo'ness, West Lothian, appearing by video link from Polmont Prison, pleaded guilty to shoplifting, and assaulting a retail worker in the course of her employment.
Solicitor Murray Aitken, defending, said: "Miss Prow tells me that the circumstances of these offences are related directly to the unfortunate death of her brother's partner, who was aged 24, on October 9th - something that was reported widely in the Press.
"That has had a dramatic impact on Miss Prow.
"She was determined not to return to heroin, which has blighted her life for years. Instead she'd been drinking and had then taken some Valium.
"She's at a loss to explain her behaviour [in Boots] because she was heavily intoxicated.
"It really seems to be that the unfortunate passing of her brother's partner was the catalyst to this particular incident."
He added: "Miss Prow is clearly no stranger to the courts. She recognises that she has a lengthy record that does her no credit."
Sheriff Christopher Shead jailed Prow for 12 months.
Last year (2020) Prow was jailed for two years - after she spat on two Tesco workers and pulled a needle on three others when she was twice cornered on high-value shoplifting sprees.
Courtney McNiven was rushed to the Forth Valley Royal Hospital after emergency services responded to reports of "a person of concern" in Bo'ness Road, Polmont, near the M9, at 2am on Saturday October 9.
Courtney, from Maddiston, died in the hospital a short time later.
