Dublin man stole €700 of meat from two Aldi shops

IT’S DIFFICULT enough for businesses to make ends meet, said Judge Gráinne O’Neill at Gorey District Court last week as she failed to be swayed by the story of the drug treatment progress made by the shoplifter before her.

Patrick Maughan (38) of 4 Carton Road, Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11, went into Aldi on the Milehouse Road, Enniscorthy, on November 18, 2016, and filled a shopping bag with meat products with a total value of €250, and walked out of the store without paying for them.

He then went up to the Aldi Store on the Coach Road in Gorey, and filled two more bags with €250 worth of meat products and left the store without paying.

He returned to the Aldi Gorey store a week later, on November 25, and filled two bags with €200 worth of meat, and again exited the shop without having paid.

Sgt Victor Isdell said that his flat in Ballymun was searched on a warrant the following week, and some of the meat was discovered in the freezer, and wasn’t in a resalable condition.

Guilty pleas were entered, and no compensation has since been offered, Judge O’Neill was told.

The defendant had 160 previous convictions, including 42 for theft. He is in custody at present, and is due for release on October 5 next.

Solicitor Ian Thorpe said his client co-operated with the gardaí. ‘He holds up his hands and accepts full responsibility,’ he said, adding that he was providing food for his family and stealing to feed his drug addiction.

He had been an addict for ten years, he said, but he is now drug-free in Mountjoy. ‘He’s on methadone and his head is clear,’ he stated. ‘He is doing well in Mountjoy with schooling and counselling.’

He said his client is a father of three and previously worked as a landscape gardener, and he hopes to be able to return to this work. He asked the court to be as lenient as possible and explained that he was on social welfare before prison so didn’t have the money to pay compensation.

Judge O’Neill asked why he needed €700 worth of meat for a family of five. Mr Thorpe replied that some of it was for his family and the rest was for his drug addiction.

‘It’s good he’s drug-free but that’s cold comfort for the company that is at the loss of €700,’ commented the judge. ‘It’s difficult enough for businesses to make ends meet. There has been no effort to pay compensation.’ She imposed two six-month prison sentences.