A young mother who was involved in a “joint enterprise” theft from a Waterford shop with two others, was handed a court fine this month.
Shirley Wall (29) of 1 Whitehall Park, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, appeared before Judge Kevin Staunton at a sitting of Waterford District Court at the beginning of March, where she was charged with theft, contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001.
The court heard that on 31 January 2025, Gardaí received reports of a theft of over €2,000 worth of items from TK Maxx, Poleberry, Waterford. It was stated that three women had entered the store, taken items, and passed all points of payment before fleeing. The accused was identified as being involved from CCTV footage. She later admitted her involvement to Gardaí.
It was noted that the accused has no previous convictions.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Ken Cunningham said that his client is a mother of three children, and was “left floundered” as she was the only person to be identified from the incident. Mr Cunningham added that the accused accepted culpability for her involvement, and was fully co-operative with Gardaí but reluctant to identify the other people involved.
The solicitor told Judge Staunton that the accused has nothing pending before the court and she is aware of the ‘seriousness’ of it. He also highlighted that the offence occurred 15 months ago, and that his client is the only person to ‘face jeopardy’ for it, as the others involved were not identified. Mr Cunningham concluded by telling the Judge that he is confident the accused would not appear before the court again.
Judge Staunton said that the offence was ultimately a shoplifting incident involving the accused and two other women who were not apprehended, but she was the one who had to “face the music” for what seemed to be a “joint enterprise.”
The Judge decided to convict the accused of the offence, and handed her a €1,000 fine.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
