Five months for supermarket theft at Kildare court
Tesco Monread
A MAN who tried to wheel almost €300 worth of groceries out of a supermarket without paying for them protested his five-month sentence despite it being highly unlikely to add to his present period of incarceration.
“Somebody tell him how much of a favour I’m doing him,” remarked Judge Desmond Zaidan of Ian O’Sullivan (43) with an address at Beechfield Estate, Fermoy Co Cork.
O’Sullivan was appearing in Naas District Court recently by videolink as he is presently serving a five-month sentence.
In Kildare, O’Sullivan had attempted to take €299.60 worth of groceries from Tesco, Monread, Naas on 25 October.
Junior counsel Senan Crawford told the court that all the groceries were recovered and were all in good enough condition for reselling.
As he had already pleaded guilty, Sergeant Dave Hanrahan for the state told the court that O’Sullivan had 192 previous convictions, 74 of them for theft, and his most recent conviction was on 28 June 2024, when he was given a four-month sentence by Cork Criminal Court for a similar offence.
“And now? Are you on remand or serving a sentence?” asked Judge Desmond Zaidan.
“I’m serving a sentence – five months on the 28th April – I have a release date on 11 August,” said O’Sullivan.
“He is a 43-year-old with three children and a serious addiction to alcohol,” said Mr Crawford in mitigation.
“He has made a guilty plea, and the important thing is all the groceries were recovered.
“My client intends to take up a place in rehab in Co Tipperary."
“How old were you at your first conviction?” asked the judge.
“Eighteen,” he replied.
“Project yourself forward now. Can you see yourself changing your habits?” asked the judge.
“Absolutely. That’s why I’m in the process of going back to Ashfield for treatment,” said O’Sullivan on screen.
“I was married for 20 years, it broke down and I was homeless, but now I’m back in full-time accommodation,” he added.
“I know of so many people who want to build so many more prisons, but even if they do, all these problems will still happen,” remarked the judge, as he gave O’Sullivan a further five-month sentence.
“Is that backdated?” asked the prisoner.
“There’s a man who knows the system!” smiled Judge Zaidan.
“Five months? You will get out in a few weeks."
“If you had been in custody for this [charge], I would have backdated, but you were on bail for it,” clarified the judge.
“Mr Crawford has done his best for you,” he added, although he set bail for appeal at €250.
