Teenagerhad kitchenknife

A kitchen knife fell from the trousers of a teenager while he was being detained by a man who found him in his car.

That evidence was given when Kyle Callan (19), College Manor, Hoey’s Lane, Dundalk, pleaded guilty to a number of charges stemming from separate incidents.

He admitted having a screwdriver, pliers and a knife with intent to use in theft, interfering with a car, and four counts of handling stolen bank cards, each in the name of a different person, at Kingswood, Blackrock Road, Dundalk, on July 21, 2023.

Mr Callan also pl eaded guilty to three counts of possession of stolen debit, credit and Revolut cards, and to a charge of dishonestly obtaining by deception a €40 pair of shorts, at JD Sports, Marshes Shopping Centre, on July 12, 2023.

Court presenter Sgt Letitia McConnell said that on July 21, when a man left his house in Kingswood he saw the defendant rummaging through the driver’s seat of a Volvo.

He detained Mr Callan who had a large kitchen knife beside him when gardaí arrived. It had fallen from the waistband of his trousers.

A pliers, screwdriver and bank cards were found on him.

Nine days earlier the accused had gone into JD Sports where he used a Visa debit card to make a contactless payment for shorts.

He subsequently attempted to purchase more goods, but the card was declined. He produced a total of five different cards to pay. A shop assistant became suspicious and contacted gardaí.

Solicitor Niall Breen said his client had been granted High Court bail with strict conditions on a separate matter. He had been on remand for three months.

While Mr Callan hadn’t previously engaged with services when ordered he must do as part of the High Court bail terms.

He had significant trouble with cannabis and the charges were indicative of a drug problem.

The defendant was remanded on bail to May 8 for an updated probation report to see if he was engaging.