Jailed for stealing €7k worth of phones

A man, who admits he was “in a rut” while living rough and stole €7,000 worth of phones from a Cavan shop, has been jailed for five months.

Kyle Clarke (26), robbed 25 devices after entering the Mobi Store on Kingscourt's Main Street on October 22, 2025.

CCTV was obtained and Clarke, with an address at Cortubber, Kingscourt, was identified and later arrested.

He also appeared before the same sitting of Cavan District Court, where he pleaded to causing criminal damage to a water tank at McKiernan's on Main Street, on the same date; and with the theft of €50 worth of groceries from Tesco on April 26, 2026.

Clarke appeared before Judge Raymond Finnegan via video-link, who was informed with regards to the stolen goods that “nothing was recovered”.

It was noted that the defendant had “very little” by way of previous convictions prior to 2019.

“I was suicidal, I was reckless, I was in a rut,” Clarke spoke up. “I was all over the place.”

It was stated to the court that Clarke is currently in custody on “more serious charges” before the CCJ in Dublin.

Judge Finnegan imposed the sentence, taking in to account all other matters.

* This article has been published with support from the Local Democracy Scheme