MAN ‘HIDING IN WARDROBE’ AS ARREST MADE

A MAN who stole groceries from Aldi was found hiding in a wardrobe when gardaí went to his home to arrest him, Drogheda District Court has heard.

John Joyce with an address at Flemington, Balrath was accused of the theft of over €100 worth of groceries from Aldi at Drogheda Retail Park on the Donore Road.

Garda Jame Haughey from Duleek Garda Station said he received a report from a security guard at the store that Joyce had placed €145 worth of groceries into a cardbord box on December 18th, 2016 and subsequently left the store without making any attempt to pay.

Garda Haughey said he downloaded the CCTV from the store and the man involved in the theft was identified to him by Garda Fergal Sweeney as the defendant John Joyce.

He said he went to Joyce’s home in September and arrested him in relation to the incident. His reply during interview was: ‘No comment’.

Asked by the solicitor for the defence what happened on the day of the arrest, Garda Haughey said he knocked on the front door and was met by Christina Joyce.

‘I asked her if John Joyce was at home and she said: ‘No, have a look’.’

Garda Haughey said he entered a number of rooms in the house and eventually found Joyce in one of the bedrooms.

Asked if there was an electric gate at the front of the property he said there was but it wasn’t working at the time.

Following enquiries from the solicitor as to the reason for the delay in the arrest, the garda said Joyce had been in custody on another maater.

He agreed that the defendant had repaid the money back to Aldi and said they had donated this to charity. He sadi the company had pursued a prosecution as that was their policy.

The solicitor told the court his client wanted to give evidence. He said although Joyce didn’t dispute the charge he had a sense of grievence about the way in which he was arrested.

Before hearing the evidence Judge Coughlan asked: ‘Are you saying that while Mr Joyce was in the wardrobe his civil rights were impinged?’

‘No he’s saying that the garda had no right to be on the property,’ the solicitor replied.

In his evidence, Joyce disputed that he was hiding in the wardrobe and said he had been in bedand his wife was preparing breakfast for their kids.

‘I had just put my two feet on the floor and the garda was walking around two other bedrooms in the my house. It’s my belief that you have to be arrested in a public place,’ he said.

Joyce also claimed the electric gates were working at the time but the garda had used a quick release button to open them which was there in case there was ever a problem with the electricity.

‘ They walked in the front door, they weren’t invited in by my wife,’ he said.

Having heard the evidence Judge Coughlan said he would convict the defendant.

The court heard Joyce has 71 previous convictions, the most recent in April 2016 at Trim District Court for no driving licence and no insurance. He has ten convictions for theft over the past ten years.

In mitigation, the solicitor for the defence said his client has a longstanding difficulty with cocaine but has been clean for some time. He said Joyce, a father of three, had been in Midlands prison until June 2016 and had been addressing his issues with drugs while in custody.

Judge Coughlan said he would impose a nine month sentence but suspended this for nine months, telling Joyce: ‘If you so much as spit on the footpath in the next nine months you’ll serve that sentence.’