A burglar with a specialisation for stealing from behind unoccupied bars in open pubs in broad daylight has been given a nine-month prison sentence.
Lawyers for Edward Wall (46) told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court most of his 68 previous convictions for burglary involved him stealing from unoccupied bars in the middle of the day.
Garda Niall Cunningham told the court that Wall would slip into unopened bars and take drinks. Judge Martin Nolan that this was “his specialisation”.
Brian Storan BL, defending, said his client was stealing to feed a drug habit but that he now wants to get clean and reform himself.
Temple Bar
Gda Cunningham told the court that on November 28th, 2019 Wall had gone into the Vat House bar in Temple Bar, Dublin city. He said the pub was opened but Wall went into a bar area that was closed and went in behind the bar and took two bottles of Jameson whiskey.
The theft was only discovered during a stock take some time later and CCTV was examined.
On January 10 last Wall walked into a bar in the Mercantile hotel on Dame Street, Dublin and again walked behind an unmanned bar. He had a bottle of whiskey in his hand when a member of staff met him and confronted him.
Wall of Whitebrook Park, Tallaght, Dublin subsequently pleaded guilty to trespass and theft on the two occasions.
The court heard that last June he was jailed for 16 months for twice stealing whiskey from the same pub. He was caught on CCTV entering an area of the pub closed to the public and stealing six bottles of Jameson Whiskey valued at €360.
Staff uncovered the theft “by happenstance” while reviewing CCTV to see why a fire alarm had gone off.
Judge Nolan imposed concurrent prison terms of nine months for each burglary.
