Homeless woman given suspended jail sentence
REPEAT offender Fawn Hanley (26) with addresses listed as 9 Bracken Hill, Blackwater and also Ounavarra Road, Courtown, but also referred to as being homeless, pleaded guilty to all charges against her at Gorey District Court last Wednesday, and was given suspended prison sentences.
She was charged with driving without insurance, licence or tax at Tomsilla Lower, Courtown on October 7, 2015; driving without insurance or a licence, driving on a provisional licence while unaccompanied by a qualified driver, no L-plates, failure to display insurance and tax discs, and failure to produce insurance, NCT, or a licence at Tinnock Lower, Gorey, on June 20, 2016; and driving without insurance or a licence, and failing to produce either at Woodlands, Ballinatray Lower, Courtown, on May 6, 2016.
She also pleaded guilty to failing to turn up to court in Gorey on December 8, 2016; stealing goods worth €111.78 from Aldi, Gorey, on July 29, 2016; and stealing items worth €29.66 from Pettitt’s SuperValu, Gorey, on November 26, 2016. These were recovered.
After being arrested at Pettitt’s, she was put in the patrol car and brought to Gorey Garda Station. There, she refused to get out of the car, and she had to be forcibly brought into the station, and she kicked out at gardaí while they were bringing them in. As a result, she was charged with resisting and wilfully obstructing a garda in exercising her duty.
She was also charged with stealing chocolate and teabags worth €5 from a house at Bracken Hill, Blackwater on December 12, 2015, and also causing €150 worth of damage to windows.
The court was told the householder awoke on hearing a window being smashed. When they got up the next morning, they discovered two windows were smashed, and some food taken. Blood was found at the scene which was tested and belonged to the defendant.
Her solicitor Ian Thorpe said she was homeless when she entered the house and took the food.
‘She was going from hostel to hostel,’ he told Judge Gerard Haughton. ‘She has suffered with addiction and is trying to get her life back on track. She is currently in custody and will use this time to get herself together and detox.’
She had no previous convictions for road traffic matters, but had for theft.
The judge sentenced her to seven months in prison, but suspended them on condition she enter into a two-year peace bond and remain under the supervision of the probation service for a year.
On the motoring summonses, he gave her three months suspended on the same bond for the three no insurance offences, and disqualified her from driving for five years. The other motoring offences were either taken into consideration or struck out.