A MAN who admitted stealing a drill and parts worth €300 from Woodies home and garden store claimed he was engaging in a different type of DIY when he was found carrying a screwdriver. He told Gardaí it was for personal protection.
Joseph O’Loughlin (36), of 105 Mount Kenneth Apartments, Limerick City, pleaded guilty to a number of offences before Limerick District Court, including possession of the screwdriver when stopped and searched by Gardaí on March 1.
Judge Catherine Ryan heard evidence that Gardaí on patrol spotted the accused in an area known for drug dealing. When Gardaí asked him why he was carrying the screwdriver, he said it was for personal protection.
Mr O’Loughlin also pleaded to a charge of carrying a knife on a separate occasion and when Gardaí found it in his possession, he said he found it.
Other charges he admitted to before the court were theft of groceries from SuperValu worth €40.90, stealing €300 worth of alcohol from Tesco, and stealing Manuka honey on two occasions from Holland and Barrett worth a total of €329.
Judge Ryan was told Mr O’Loughlin came before the court with 142 previous convictions, including 20 for burglary, 14 for criminal damage, possession of drugs, assault, one threat to kill, and possession of an implement with intent to cause injury.
The accused man’s solicitor, Tom Kiely, told the court that Mr O’Loughlin “has been involved with the criminal justice system since he was a juvenile”.
Outlining that Mr O’Loughlin has an addiction problem, Mr Kiely said that he “has been making efforts to overcome it but, unfortunately, to date he has been unsuccessful”.
The solicitor pointed out that Mr O’Loughlin pleaded guilty to all of the charges and was co-operative with investigating Gardaí.
“There is no suggestion that he used the implements (the screwdriver and knife) to harm or threaten anyone, they were simply in his possession,” Mr Kiely said.
“He has a child and he acknowledges that he has let down that child because of the amount of time he has spent in custody.”
Judge Ryan said that she would take account of all that was said in his defence but “Mr O’Loughlin has made a career for himself in crime”.
She sentenced him to two months in jail each for the possession of the screwdriver and knife, to run consecutively.
Concurrent to that, Mr O’Loughlin was sentenced to two months for stealing the drill and one month for the theft of the honey.
Judge Ryan imposed concurrent sentences of one month each for the thefts from Tesco and SuperValu.
She set bail for an appeal of sentencing at €300.
– Court Reporting Scheme