This article is from page 12 of the 2009-01-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
A TENANT who stole electrical goods from his landlord committed a “particularly mean crime,’ accord- ing to a judge.
Bartosz Szutta (25), of Lios Rua, Ballycasey, Shannon, admitted stealing a plasma screen television, laptop computer and dvd player, at Ballycasey Court, Shannon, on Sep- tember 28 last. Ennis District Court was told the value of the stolen goods amounted to more than €3,000.
Sergeant Annette Ryan told the court the owner of the house re- turned after a weekend away to find his tenant, the accused, sitting in a van along with the contents of the SJLMBUNTcapKeLONeeF
‘He asked what he was doing with the contents and he told him he was stealing them and he was about to drive off,’ she said.
She said that €500 in cash had been taken from a drawer in the owner’s bedroom. “The defendant left the scene. Before doing so he put
the €500 cash into the letter box of the house. All of the property was recovered,’ said Sgt Ryan.
Defending solicitor Jenny Fitzgib- bon said her client was having dif- ficulty with work at the time and had gone through a “dark period.”
‘His performance at work was not up to scratch. He was suspended and ultimately he was let go. He was be- ginning to panic. He has a loan for €8,000. He wishes he could turn back the clock,” said the solicitor.
Judge Timothy Lucey said it was a “particularly mean crime.”
‘He was in a position of trust. He was a tenant in part of the house. He used that to steal substantial amounts from his landlord. It was fortuitous the landlord came back. He was caught red-handed,” he said.
He imposed a six-month jail term, suspended for 12 months on con- dition he enter a bond to keep the joerleen