A man who was found with stolen goods from a “professional style” theft in Waterford City was recently given a suspended sentence.
Bogdan Dumitru (26) of no fixed abode, appeared before Judge Kevin Staunton at a sitting of Waterford District Court earlier this month, and pleaded guilty to a charge of being in possession of stolen property, contrary to Section 18 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001. This related to an incident that occurred almost five years ago, in 2021.
Inspector Niall Daly outlined to the court that on 20 September, 2021, Gardaí received a call from Sports Direct, Waterford, after they suspected that a number of people had entered the store and stolen items. After a description of those involved and the car they were using was given to Gardaí, officers who were on patrol were able to locate the vehicle involved.
Insp. Daly said that a man, who was identified as the accused, was the sole occupant of the car when it was discovered by Gardaí, and clothing items to the value of €1,255 were found inside it. The Inspector added that the accused had no proof of ownership for the items, and that the theft was “professional in style.”
The accused was later arrested by Gardaí, and made no admission to the charge. It was stated that he is originally from Romania, and was extradited to Ireland for the offence to be dealt with by the courts.
Representing the accused, solicitor Hilary Delahunty said that his client is 26 years of age, has a two year old daughter, was living in Ireland and working in Kilkenny at the time of the offence. The solicitor outlined that the accused was asked for a lift to Waterford by someone known to one of his friends. He agreed to this, and was paid €150 by this person to drive a group of people down on the day.
Mr. Delahunty added that his client went into the Sports Direct shop with others in the group and ‘validly’ bought a t-shirt, before losing sight of where they were. Following this, the accused went back to the car, and received a call from the others to pick them up. It was then that Gardaí discovered him in the car, along with the goods.
The solicitor told Judge Staunton that the accused finds it “impossible to comprehend recklessness.”
He asked the Judge to consider not imposing a custodial sentence, as although his client was pleading guilty, he claims that he did not steal the items, despite the fact that “nobody would believe his story.”
Judge Staunton handed the accused a four month sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
