Teen thief blew chance to avoid jail

SERIAL OFFENDER STOLE BIKE ON THE MORNING OF COURT DATE

A TEENAGER has been jailed after he stole a bike worth hundreds of pounds – mere hours before he was due to appear in court to answer for his terrible criminal record.

At just 18, Austin Finnerty had already racked up a slew of offences including ‘driving offences, dishonesty and public disorder’.

But at the beginning of this year, Finnerty was given ‘one last chance’ to get his life back on track.

On January 30, a judge decided against imprisoning him, instead handing him a sentence of 16 months, suspended for two years.

But it was later discovered that on the morning of his court date, Finnerty was out stealing a mountain bike from a secure bike rack worth more than £400 near his home in Poulton-Le-Fylde.

The thefts did not end there, the court heard, as he was sentenced on Wednesday for another string of offences. Just a few weeks after Finnerty had appeared in court and received his suspended sentence, he was yet again out stealing another bike 20 minutes after it had been left in a cycle rack by its owner.

This time, Finnerty took an electric model worth £2,000, on February 8.

The troubled teenager then ‘vanished off the radar’ throughout the summer – ditching his tag and disappearing from his home in Back Lord Street, Blackpool, where he lived with his mother.

Police officers eventually caught up with the teenager in Manchester on September 16.

On December 17, Finnerty was sentenced at the Lowry Nightingale Court for the two thefts, his driving offences, and the numerous breaches of his suspended sentence.

The teenager’s history of offending caused His Honour Judge Mark Savill to remark: “He’s got a terrible record, hasn’t he?”

In response, defending barrister Sarah Hack said Finnerty had experienced a difficult and chaotic upbringing, adding: “There is still some hope.”

The judge said there was no other place for Finnerty except prison and sentenced him to 18 months, telling him: “Now is the time to draw a line in the sand.”