Stolenitems

A woman who was found in a drunken state in a car full of property that had been stolen during the course of a burglary in Enniscorthy appeared before the court last week charged with handling stolen goods.

Margaret Cash (27) of 22 Sundale Villas, Tallaght, Dublin, was present in court and pleaded guilty to the charge, dating from October 5, 2013.

Detective Garda Martin Brauders told the court that on the night in question, gardaí received a call about a car acting suspiciously in the Drumgoold area.

The vehicle was eventually located and a chase ensued. The car pulled in at Kilconnib, Monageer, and some of the occupants fled the scene, leaving the defendant and another lady behind. Garda Brauders said that the defendant was in an intoxicated state when arrested and had to be taken to hospital as she was ill. He said that the property, consisting of a laptop, a flat-screen TV, pieces of Waterford Crystal and 20 rugs, was owned by Mr Andy O’Brien and had been taken during the course of a burglary.

Garda Brauders said that he was happy that the defendant, whose only previous convictions were road traffic matters, had taken no part in the burglary and that she played a minor part in the whole incident.

Cash’s solicitor said that she was a mother of seven and was facing a difficult time at the moment as the family were being made homeless. He said that they are currently going site to site and are finding it very hard.

Upon hearing all the evidence, Judge Haughton opted to give Cash the benefit of the Probation Act Section 1.2, recording a conviction, but not imposing a penalty.