Soft spoken thief is jailed for 14 days
A 31-year-old man told Judge Kevin Kilrane he was ‘deeply regretful’ for the things he had done after he was sentenced to 14 days in prison.
Christopher Gorman of no fixed abode was before last Thursday’s sitting of Sligo District Court charged with a number of offences, mostly theft and Public Order. He was also sent forward for trial to the next sitting of Sligo Circuit Court on two separate charges relating to robbery at Applegreen, Pearse Road last year. Defending solicitor Mr Gerard McGovern said that his client had been in custody a long time.
He said when he was released he went to live with another party, also a patient in St Columba’s and that at the time he was in a very bad state.
“He didn’t know right from wrong, he was living in a delusional world,” Mr McGovern said.
He said that he’s known the defendant the last number of years and described him as ‘quite a gentle soul’. “I know his mother loves him dearly, but when he is not well he is not in the right frame of mind.” He said that getting arrested was a cry for help as he wanted gardaí to pick him up.
Mr McGovern indicated Gorman had received a lot of mental health treatment but it had not worked in his view.
“I don’t think he got the proper care, I hate to say it but I have to, the care that’s out there let him down.” He said his client was not a violent man. “He hasn’t got help, the court has not let him down but hopefully in Castlerea he can get some help. He seems in a better place,” Mr McGovern said. The judge said he doesn’t know what type of man Gorman is. “He comes across as soft spoken but he had got a lot of chances and he understood these chances.” The thefts he pleaded guilty to related to ‘smallish items’ but such petty theft led to a huge amount of problems.
“It’s costing everyone; retailers, gardaí, resources,” the judge pointed out.
“I’m undecided as to who Mr Gorman really is, is he as benign as he comes across, or is he not?”, the judge added. “I’ ll give him the benefit of the doubt.” Mr McGovern explained that a lot of time the theft was the likes of a sandwich as he didn’t have a place to live. The defendant then told the judge: “I have nothing. I have no physical things. These are the only things I have.
“I had no right of any kind to put anyone in any state. I’m one of the most deeply considerate to every life form. I can’t say how deeply regretful I am. I’m deeply sorry for that.”
The judge told him that he was giving him the benefit of the doubt, adding that he is soft spoken and not violent. He sentenced him to 14 days imprisonment for the theft of deli food value of €15.50 from Centra, Castle Street on July 4 th 2019, he also sentenced him to 14 days in prison to run concurrently for the theft of a bottle of wine on two occasions from Mace, Holborn Street on January 27 th 2019 and January 28th 2019.
He applied the same sentence for theft from the hot food deli in Applegreen, Pearse Road on April 18th 2019 and also stealing a grey Nike zip up top valued at €48 from Sports Direct, Castle Street on July 1st 2019. Two public order charges were taken into consideration as was a charge of theft of a tin of spam and a frozen pizza, valued €6.28 from Armstrong’s Cash Saver, High Street on May 31st 2019.