A HOMELESS man stole a carton of milk because he had no money to feed himself, a judge was told in a Limerick court.
But Judge Patricia Harney was also told that the man went on to steal two bottles of Captain Morgan rum on another occasion.
Daniel O’Riordan (31), of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty in Limerick District Court to stealing the milk, worth €1.65 from a Spar shop on Catherine Street in the city on July 17 of this year.
The court heard that a member of staff saw him leave without paying for the milk and followed him, but when the staff member challenged him, Mr O’Riordan became “threatening and abusive”.
The milk was not recovered, Judge Harney was told.
The accused man also pleaded guilty to theft of goods from Tesco on July 22, to the value of €140.
Judge Harney was told by the prosecution that Mr O’Riordan took two bottles of Captain Morgan rum and a packet of razor blades.
The court heard that he paid for a banana and a bottle of Lucozade at the self-service checkouts. He was stopped by security, who called the Gardaí. The goods were recovered in that incident.
Mr O’Riordan’s solicitor, John Herbert, told the court that his client’s life was “characterised by homelessness” at the time.
“He stole the milk as a matter of feeding himself. He was homeless and couldn’t get social welfare,” Mr Herbert told the court.
Judge Harney remarked that Mr O’Riordan had money “to feed his alcohol habit”.
The judge was told that Mr O’Riordan had 78 previous convictions, 49 of them for theft.
She said that while the stealing milk to feed himself was one thing, threats and abuse towards staff at Spar was “most alarming”.
She sentenced Mr O’Riordan to four weeks in jail and set a bail bond of €50, if he wishes to appeal the sentence.
