Young Gorey man faced ‘ridiculous’ amount of charges

A ‘ridiculous’ number of charge sheets and summonses were piled in front of Judge Gráinne O’Neill when she dealt with Eric Sutcliffe (23) of 9 The Park, Clonattin Village, Gorey.

The young man, with a record of 64 previous convictions, attended the District Court sitting in Gorey to plead guilty to multiple thefts and motoring offences.

He left the courthouse under escort to begin 18 months in jail after the judge told him she could not ignore the number of matters before her.

She noted that the court was being asked to deal with 15 sets of offences racked up by Sutcliffe in less than a year.

They included repeated thefts of fuel from filling stations, as well as driving again and again without insurance.

Among the businesses which suffered from his willingness to fill up without paying were garages in Gorey, Courtown and Ballycanew.

One filling station owner, Conor Carton, gave victim impact evidence, complaining that such offences happened all the time.

With profit margins small, he reckoned that when Sutcliffe drove off with €30 worth of fuel, the business lost almost €29.

The court was informed that no compensation was paid and that the defendant was on bail when he committed many of the crimes being considered.

The past record of Eric Sutcliffe included 14 counts of having no motor insurance cover and the latest hearing added seven more to the list.

Solicitor Lana Doherty revealed that both of her client’s parents died of alcohol abuse, while the accused had ADHD.

She described him as impulsive and easily led, suggesting that he was a nice fellow who seemed not to understand the consequences of his actions.

‘He acts in the moment,’ said Ms Doherty before Sutcliffe was banned from driving for ten years.