Ten months’ jail for man who scraped parked cars

A YOUNG MAN who scraped paint from a number of cars at a busy retail centre in Monaghan town, was given consecutive prison sentences amounting to 10 months, when the matter was finalised at Monaghan District Court.

Robin Curi (20) of no fixed abode, admitted causing criminal damage to five cars parked at the Monaghan Shopping Centre carpark on June 21 last. He had been immediately reported and was later followed to the grounds of St Macartan’s Cathedral where he was arrested.

The cars that were scraped included one registered in 2025 and another in 2024. Mr Curi’s original bail hearing on June 22 was told by Garda Gerard Kennedy that the estimated cost of repairs to each vehicle had ranged from €500 to €2,500.

Gda Kennedy told the June hearing that he had responded to a report of the incident on the previous afternoon. One of the injured parties told him that, after she exited her vehicle, she saw a male in a grey hoodie walk along the side of her car while scraping it and causing damage to its paintwork. Four other people had reported similar damage to their vehicles.

The garda said CCTV had shown a male picking up an “item” at the gate and walking in among the cars before he exited the carpark. He was later apprehended at the cathedral at Latlorcan, Monaghan, after being followed there by security.

Gda Kennedy had also stated that, although he previously had an address at Cluain Lorcan, Monaghan Town, Mr Curi was most recently living in a tent on a local greenway.

NO COMPO

When the matter came up again at the recent hearing, Sergeant Lisa McEntee said there would be no victim impact statements from the injured parties. Her understanding was that the various car owners were aware they weren’t going to get any compensation, given that the defendant was a man of no means whatsoever.

The sergeant also confirmed that Mr Curi had been in custody since his arrest on the day of the incidents before the court.

She added that five vehicles were indentified as having been scraped by Curi at around 1:52pm on Sunday June 21 last. In addition to CCTV footage, he was also seen by staff members.

The sergeant also confirmed that the defendant had no previous convictions.

Barrister Dimitry Grinberg reminded the court that an application had been made to have a psychiatric assessment carried out on his client while he was in custody.

MENTAL HEALTH

But unfortunately, this had never happened, even though his client had significant mental issues, Mr Grinberg said. He added that Mr Curi had in fact made a suicide attempt the previous week, leaving scars on both his hands.

The defendant came to Ireland when he was seven, the court was told. He stayed with his aunt for five years, but was placed in foster care after that. His parents were still alive and living in the Czech Republic, but he had no connections with them.

His client was accepting that he caused damage to the cars, but was hoping, when released, to find work so he could raise some compensation, counsel stated.

Judge Raymond Finnegan said he accepted all that was said, but had to bear in mind that five people had been left at a loss. Some of the cars were very new, he noted, so the owners would have had to claim from their insurance or be substantially out of pocket.

The judge said he was therefore imposing two-month prison sentences on each of the sheets, but making them consecutive to each other and thereby coming to 10 months in total. The sentence was backdated to June 22, when Curi was first taken into custody.

Recognisances for any appeal included a requirement that €500 be lodged by an independent surety, the judge told Mr Grinberg.

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