A Llanelli woman who threatened to stab an Asda shop assistant with a needle after stealing two bottles of wine has been jailed for four years.
Kara Racuoco, 41, of Elizabeth Street, admitted two counts of robbery and two of shoplifting over six weeks in April and May at Asda on Murray Street, Home Bargains on Station Road and Tesco Extra at Parc Trostre, Dyfed-Powys Police said.
She was sentenced on Friday 2 October.
The needle threat at Asda, and a second robbery six weeks later
The court heard that on Tuesday 7 April she took two bottles of wine from Asda on Murray Street and, when challenged about the theft, threatened to stab a shop assistant with a needle, police said.
On Tuesday 5 May she put a bottle of wine in her pocket at Home Bargains and left without paying.
On Saturday 16 May she was back at Asda, where she stole two joints of beef and threatened another shop assistant. The next day, Sunday 17 May, she took around £95 of meat from Tesco Extra at Parc Trostre.
Denied the robberies, then changed her plea in August
Racuoco denied all four charges when she appeared at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on 18 May and was remanded in custody, with the case sent to Swansea Crown Court.
She later admitted the two shoplifting offences but kept denying the robberies, and a trial was set for late October, police said.
At a hearing in early August she changed her plea and admitted both robberies.
The case was investigated by Llanelli CID. Detective Sergeant Kevin Allen said: “This result shows our commitment to tackling criminal behaviour at a local level. Shoplifting and robbery are both serious crimes, and we will not tolerate such lawless behaviour in our force area.”
“I’d like to thank the team for their efforts which have ultimately led to this serial offender being sentenced to prison.”
It is the second jail term for shoplifting in Llanelli this year that police have publicised: in April an 18-year-old was jailed for 10 weeks after six thefts from M&S at Trostre in a month.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
LLANELLI: Woman charged with robbery and shoplifting after string of incidents at Asda, Home Bargains and Tesco Extra – May 2026: the charges, and the first court appearance.
LLANELLI: Habitual shoplifter jailed after six M&S raids in a month – Trostre’s retail crime problem.
Llanelli retail staff report high levels of abuse as campaign calls for stronger protections – Usdaw’s Freedom from Fear campaign at Tesco Trostre.
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