A man who stole fish from a Waterford city supermarket before Christmas was recently invited to make a court poor box donation.
Jean Rame (41) of 15 Auburn Close, Earlscourt, Waterford, appeared before Judge John Cheatle at a sitting of Waterford District Court in March, where he pled guilty to theft, contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
Sergeant John Phelan told the court that on 23 December 2025, Gardaí were alerted to a theft from Supervalu Kilbarry on the Tramore Road. The Sergeant outlined that a man, identified as the accused, took fish products to the value of €73.15 and left without paying for them.
Sgt Phelan added that the accused paid for other items apart from the fish, and that later on in the day, he returned to the store and took more fish products valued at €62.74, and did not pay for them.
It was noted in court that the accused has no previous convictions.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor John O’Donohue said that his client was “tight for money” at the time of the incident, as it was close to Christmas. Mr. O’Donohue added that the accused returned to the store afterwards to pay back the value of the items, and wished to apologise for his actions.
Judge Cheatle invited the accused to make a €100 donation to the court poor box. The Judge indicated that the matter will be struck out if this is completed before 2 June, 2026.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
