This article is from page 6 of the 2012-02-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A 17-YEAR-OLD boy has been sentenced to nine months in a young offenders institute after pleading guilty to burglary in Shannon last year.
At Ennis District Court last Wednesday, the boy also pleaded guilty to charges of the unauthorised taking of a vehicle and handling stolen property. The offences arose out of an incident in Ros Min, Shannon, last December. The court heard that the boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has 55 previous convictions.
A Detective Gwarda told the court that the boy entered the house, taking a set of car keys, house keys and a quantity of cash. A car was also taken in the incident.
The court heard that the house was occupied at the time of the burglary. The boy gained access through the front door, which was closed but unsecured, the court heard.
The accused was subsequently arrested in Tipperary where he admitted his involvement to gardaí. The car was recovered undamaged.
Solicitor Eileen Whelan told the court that her client had entered an early guilty plea so as to spare civil- ian witnesses the “trauma” of re-living the burglary in court.
She said her client, who was accompanied in court by his parents, had “certainly been mixing with the wrong people”. Ms Whelan said her client intended finishing his Leaving Certificate and had enroled in a mechanics programme. “He’s having a real eye opener. He’s here to take his medicine”, she added.
Judge Aeneas McCarthy noted that the boy had “umpteen previous convictions”, adding, “He hasn’t got a good record”. Taking into the account the accused’s plea of guilty and other mitigating circumstances, Judge McCarthy imposed a ninemonth sentence for the burglary charge. A three-month concurrent sentence was imposed for the unauthorised taking of a vehicle.