A burglar has been jailed for eight months for ransacking an Eddie Rockets diner on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.
Karl Thomas, 31, of Belclare Park, Ballymun, Dublin pleaded guilty to the offence when he appeared before Judge Victor Blake at Cloverhill District Court.
The court heard that the incident happened at 6.15am on January 26th last.
Gardaí obtained CCTV showing Thomas smashing the door. The accused was found later that date wearing same clothes and made some admissions following his arrest.
The restaurant was at a loss of €900 because he had broke in, tore an alarm off the restaurant wall and stole an empty cash register.
Thomas already had 79 criminal convictions starting when he was in his teens.
He had a litany of previous offences for failing to appear in court, possessing firearms ammunition, criminal damage, theft, public order, burglary, and knife possession offences.
His last jail sentence in was in 2019, but he had been in prison custody on remand since January after he was charged with the burglary.
Leniency plea
Pleading for leniency, defence counsel Brian Mulvany told Judge Blake his client was sorry and ashamed of his behaviour.
Thomas’s mother was ill and he was very anxious to be with her, counsel said as he asked the court to consider a suspended sentence. He was a man of no means and would like to offer compensation, but that was not a realistic prospect.
Counsel described it as an opportunistic incident, which happened when Thomas was fleeing from someone who had made a threat against him.
He had significant addiction problems in the past but is now clean, the court heard.
Sentencing, Judge Blake took into consideration his guilty plea to an offence which could have resulted in a 12-month sentence. However, he added that he found it hard to credit his account that he was fleeing from others at 6.15am.
The restaurant was at a loss and businesses have had a tough time due to coronavirus, he said.
The term was backdated by three months to the date he went into custody.
In the event of an appeal, bail was set in his own bond of €100 and requires a €500 independent surety.
