Shoplifter is jailed for two months

A 73-year-old shoplifter who brought a packed bag to court was well advised as he incurred another theft conviction and wassenttojail.

Thomas O’Connor, 33 Ballycanew Court, Ballycanew, was described by his solicitor as a diagnosed kleptomaniac.

Tim Cummings reckoned that the thieving was a coping mechanism used to deal with the abuse O’Connor had suffered over the years.

The defendant, stated the solicitor, had been abused in his youth in Artane and later lived homeless for eleven years.

He had a record of more than 40 previous convictions under the Theft Act.

Judge Brian O’Shea accepted that the defendant, who was familiar to him, had endured a particularly tough childhood.

In this case, O’Connor pleaded guilty to taking goods, including ‘Friends’ and ‘Harry Potter’ box sets from Golden Discs last December.

On a previous occasion, the accused, who acts as carer for his wife, had undertaken not to commit further offences.

The judge said the time had come when an element of deterrent must come into play.

So it was that ‘with a relatively heavy heart’ he handed down the two-month sentence and O’Connor was led away to the cells by gardaí.