A Waterford court was recently told that a man guilty of burglary and possession of stolen property has had a life “marred by tragedy.”
Laurence Bryan (45) of 1 Brookview Crescent, Tallaght, Dublin 24, appeared before Judge Kevin Staunton at Waterford District Court in September. He pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, contrary to Section 12 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, as well as possession of stolen property, contrary to Section 18 of the same act.
Inspector Joe O’Neill told the court that on 7 May 2026, Gardaí received a report of a burglary at Aldi, Ashe Road, Waterford city. A man, identified as the accused, was seen on CCTV footage pushing open the shutters of the shop and taking 27 bottles of ‘various types’ of alcohol from the shelves, Insp. O’Neill said.
In a separate incident the next day, the accused was found in possession of a bike that was stolen from a staff member at McDonald’s on the Cork Road.Insp. O’Neill said the bike had been in a storage area outside the premises when it was taken by the accused. It was noted in a previous court sitting that the bike was later recovered.
It was noted in court that the accused has 195 previous convictions which include theft and burglary matters.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Derrick Connors told the court that his client has had a life “marred by tragedy”. The solicitor said the accused suffers from PTSD from witnessing his sister being run over by a bus when he was eight years old, and became a ‘victim’ of drug use from the age of 10.
Mr. Connors added that another tragedy occurred when the accused’s brother was murdered in 2007. The accused was in Waterford with his partner in May, and when the relationship ended, he “took a large quantity of drugs” before committing the offences.
Mr. Connors said that as a result, his client was ‘extremely intoxicated’ and “doesn’t remember much.” The solicitor highlighted that the accused has been in custody since May 2026, and is now on a methadone treatment programme. Mr. Connors asked Judge Staunton to have some ‘leniency’ by imposing a partly suspended sentence to give the accused a ‘chance.’
Judge Staunton said it “wasn’t an understatement” that the accused’s life has been marred by tragedy, telling the court: “he has had a difficult life and he has my sympathy for that.” However, the judge said that the court had to take the accused’s previous convictions into account.
Judge Staunton sentenced the accused to nine months imprisonment, which he backdated to May 2026.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme Robyn Power
