Woman is caught by police for stealing £1,300 from elderly women after one victim told officers she looked like Johnny Vegas
- Tracey MacDonald, 40, posed as a delivery driver in order to target old women
- She managed to steal £1,300 from five victims over a two-month period in 2018
- Police tracked down MacDonald after her victims described her ‘fat cheeks’
- MacDonald, who committed 112 previous offences, was jailed for 12 months
Tracey MacDonald, pictured, was jailed for a year by Manchester Crown Court after she was convicted of targeting five elderly women in distraction thefts between February and April 2018
A woman who stole from elderly ladies during distraction thefts was caught by police – after victims said she looked like comedian Johnny Vegas.
Tracy MacDonald, 40, had posed as a delivery driver or a Good Samaritan to plunder almost £1,300 from five women in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester over a two month period. But she was arrested after officers recognised victims’ description of her ‘fat cheeks’ and having a passing resemblance to the comic and former Benidorm star.
MacDonald had stolen from one victim whilst pretending to deliver Easter eggs and picked the pocket of another whilst following her on a shopping trip warning: ‘You need to be careful, there are lots of wrong people out there after money and drugs.’ Back in 2013 she was nicknamed ‘Johnny Vegas’ sister’ on social media after she appeared on TV’s Daybreak, a predecessor of Good Morning Britain, to brag of her welfare handouts after her housing association urged her cut back on cigarettes, alcohol and Sky TV to cope with benefit cuts.
She claimed the demands on her were ‘outrageous’ and added: ‘We get our benefits and should be able to spend them on what we choose to. I get £142 a fortnight- I buy my cigarettes, a drink at weekends, shopping, various things to economise. I wouldn’t want to stop doing anything really, it’s the way I’ve been bought up- to spend my benefits on what I choose to, to survive. It’s our choice to do what we are doing.’
At Manchester Crown Court victims of MacDonald she said robbed them of their confidence and independence, leaving them scared venture out of their homes.
Widow Mary Wilson, 86, said: ‘I am cautious and think of myself as streetwise despite my age. I believe the defendant targeted me and assumed I would not protest as an elderly woman.
‘I am a strong person and am one of 13 children and I want to tell the defendant just how wrong what they did was.’
Eileen Mitchell said: ‘My confidence has been knocked and and I feel less safe walking around and going to the shops. I am distraught about the incident and feel vulnerable and think people will approach me with malicious intentions.’
MacDonald, from Wythenshawe admitted five counts of theft between February and April 2018 and was jailed for a year. The career criminal had previous 112 offences dating back to 1994 including robbery and theft and had embarked on a similar crime spree targeting vulnerable pensioners in North Wales.
MacDonald, pictured left in 2013, was compared to northern comedian Johnny Vegas, right, after she appeared on ITV’s Daybreak show to complain about advice she had been given over they way she spent her benefits
Manchester Crown Court heard MacDonald had been convicted of 112 previous offences
MacDonald was arrested after police were alerted and in interview apologised saying she stole to purchase drugs.
In mitigation her lawyer Jane Dagnall said: ‘These were despicable offences and she has an appalling record and she paints a pathetic persona today. She is an animated character who was previously given a chance by a court, tried hard but failed and her demons got the better of her.’
Jailing MacDonald for a year, Judge Alan Conrad QC said: ‘You stole from elderly and vulnerable people whose confidence you set to gain and then distract them in order to steal from them. It is despicable that you prey on vulnerable people in this way.’