Jailed for stealing jacket

A young Meath man has been jailed for walking out of a local sports store without paying for a jacket.

Cavan District Court heard how the teenager, who recently turned 18 years, threw the €309 CP Company jacket back at the security guard after being caught stealing it from Sports Direct, Lakeland Retail Park, Cavan Town, on May 10, 2024.

He elected to plead guilty after appearing before Judge Raymond Finnegan via video-link from Cloverhill Prison having been remanded in custody from Trim District Court the day before.

The defendant had 39 previous convictions at the time, the most recent of which was handed down in October last year at Carrick-on-Shannon District Court, which was also for theft. He received a 24-month probation order, and a number of other theft matters were also taken into account.

Only days before that in Ardee, Co Louth, he received a six-month probation order, again for theft.

There were other theft matters dealt with in September last year in Mullingar, and before that in Trim.

“He’s been a busy man,” remarked Judge Finnegan of the teenager, who was represented in court by barrister Cecilia Ní Choileáin.

She said her client was married, and one of 11 children, and that his prior offending all occurred when he was still a juvenile.

“He didn’t have the best of role models,” said Ms Ní Choileáin, adding: “He started off on a wrong path.”

The teen is currently in custody on other matters the court was told, with appearances before other sittings due on October 4 and 10.

“The only way to deal with this man is prison,” stated Judge Finnegan, noting that the defendant’s record given his comparative age was “appalling”.

A four-month prison sentence was imposed, and recognisances were fixed in the event of an appeal.