Shontelle Burston jailed for six weeks after breaching her sentence
Four new charges, including stealing meat and failing to stop for police, put her in breach of a suspended sentence.
Shontelle Burston appeared in the Launceston Magistrates Court on October 9, 2026, after breaching a suspended sentence. Prosecutors say she stole meat from Woolworths in Riverside and failed to stop for police on Punchbowl Road.
The new charges put her in breach of the 12-week suspended prison sentence she already had. She also broke into a nursery owned by the City of Launceston.
CCTV captured Burston placing $700 worth of plants into wheelie bins. Police later found photos of the plants on her phone, and she confessed to the break-in.
Magistrate Simon Brown jailed her for six weeks, activating only half of the suspended sentence. A further eight weeks in prison was suspended for 12 months, and she was disqualified from driving for two years.
As she was taken into custody, Burston yelled that the justice system was wrong.
- 12 weeks
- Suspended sentence
- $700 worth
- Plants taken from nursery
- Six weeks
- Prison term imposed
- Two years
- Driving disqualification
Why it mattersA suspended sentence is a jail term put on hold, and new offences can bring it back.
AustraliaCourts in Tasmania can jail someone who breaches a suspended sentence, as this case shows.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 56 min ago
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