The following cases were heard at Reading and Slough Magistrates’ Courts: 

August 20

OLIVER COPLAND, 25, of Oaklands Crescent, admitted possession of cannabis in Wokingham on March 29, 2021. FIned £200 and ordered to pay £134 in court fees. 

JAYDEN CARRTER, 24, of South Lynn Crescent, Bracknell, convicted of travelling on a railway without paying for a ticket in Reading on March 3, 2021. Fined £440, ordered to pay compensation of £3 and must pay £224 in court fees. 

BRIAN SHARP, 42, of Arnett Avenue, Wokingham, convicted of travelling on a railway without paying for a ticket in Reading on February 24, 2021. Also convicted of giving a railwa officer a false name and address when requested having failed to pay their fare. Fined £880, ordered to pay compensation of £2.90 and must pay £224 in court fees.

KARYSSA BELL, 30, of Mount Lane, Bracknell, admitted driving under the influence of cannabis and cocaine on Winkfield Row in Winkfield and Bracknell Road in Winkfield on December 16, 2020. Banned from driving for 12 months. Community order made. Requirement to take part in up to 25 rehabilitation activity days. Must pay a £95 victim surcharge. 

August 23

KIM MAYNARD, 47, of Bambury, Bracknell, admitted to five counts of theft from BP Lightwater between October 28, 2020 and November 15, 2020. Items stolen include biscuits bottles of wine, steak and sausages to the value of £194. Sentenced to prison for 18 weeks due to defendant’s previous record of offending. Must pay a £128 victim surcharge. 

SCOTT STILLER, 32, of Orbit Close, Finchampstead, admitted to one count of theft from a shop and one count of attempt of theft from a shop, namely Boots in Bracknell, on August 18 and 19, 2020. Items stolen totalled £103.50. Committed to prison for six weeks suspended for 12 months as defendant is a ‘prolific offender’. Must pay compensation of £103.50 and court costs of £400.

A fundamental principle of justice is that it must be seen to be done. Open justice is acclaimed on a number of grounds: as a safeguard against judicial error, to assist the deterrent function of criminal trials and to permit the revelation of matters of interest.