Trespasser was found watching TV in vacant house

Jailed for four months

A SERIAL public order and petty crimes offender was given a four-month prison sentence, when Monaghan District Court heard how gardaí found him watching television in a vacant house, on foot of a report from a person living nearby.

Shane Farrell (31) with an address at Tonagh, Clontibret, Co Monaghan (and previously at Ard na Lorgan, and “no fixed abode”, Castleblayney) pleaded guilty to charges that he entered a cottage as a trespasser with intent to commit an offence, and that in doing so he caused damage to the building’s front door.

Farrell appeared by video link from prison, as he was serving a three-month sentence imposed two weeks earlier for offences including burglary and the fraudulent use of a stolen bank card.

His solicitor, Niall Fox, noted that he was in custody with consent to bail on the charges before the court, in respect of which he wished to enter a guilty plea.

Details relating to these offences were outlined by Sergeant Damien Galligan, who said that, at about 1:45pm on Thursday, May 7 last, gardaí received a report from a neighbour who explained that the front door of a vacant house at Tonagh had been pushed open and that a man was inside the premises.

Gardaí arrived at the scene and found Farrell watching a TV while inside. There had been damage to the front door but nothing was taken from the property.

Over a hundred previous

The sergeant noted that the court would be familiar with the defendant, as he had 109 previous convictions, four of which were for criminal damage, while two were for trespassing. Agreeing that he was familiar with Farrell, Judge Raymond Finnegan imposed a four-month prison sentence for the damage to the door, but backdated the sentence to May 8 last, when Farrell was taken into custody. The charge of entering the building as a trespasser was taken into consideration on that basis.

* This article was published with support from the Court Reporting Scheme