Judge praises vigilant neighbour

A vigilant neighbour who took down the number of a car involved in the theft of diesel from a building yard was praised by a district court judge who added: "Civilians can assist gardaí in solving crime and this is a prime example." Judge Conal Gibbons made the comment at Virginia District Court when a 27-year-old man pleaded guilty to the offence. Ian Black, Apartment 2, Cross Street, Giles Flats, Kells, was charged with stealing €100 worth of diesel on September 2 at Rantavan, Mullagh. Inspector Ray McMahon told the court that the defendant entered the building yard from the rear and made off with diesel worth €100. The diesel was contained in two 20 litres containers and belonged to Mr. Alan Mulvaney. Pat Rogers, solicitor defending, said he had €100 in court as compensation for the injured party. His client was pleading guilty. Mr. Black had received some bad news earlier that day and had travelled from Kells to Mullagh to visit his mother. On his way home he felt the car chug and he had run out of diesel. He went into the yard and took the diesel. A neighbour saw his car and took down the number. Judge Gibbons said all credit to the public for keeping a look out for things such as this. Mr. Rogers added that his client appeared to be a depressed sort of individual. "He was totally out of order in what he did on the night." Judge Gibbons said it was a mean thing to do on the injured party. However, the matter had been resolved satisfactory. The judge gave the defendant the benefit of the Probation Act.