An unsuspecting burglar who escaped from a garden centre with a trolley full of stolen shrubs and flowers unintentionally left a compost trail that guided Gardai straight to his nearby home, the court was told, reports The Mirror.
At Ennis District Court today, solicitor for Eamon Quinn (38), Tara Godfrey, acknowledged that her client’s theft of €500 worth of gardening items from Vaughan’s Garden Centre, located at the Gort Road Industrial Estate on Ennis’s Gort Road on February 10th, resembled something out of a cartoon.
Sgt Frank O’Grady explained to the court that Quinn took flowers, shrubs, and decorative stone items from the premises, and a visible compost trail led Gardai directly to his residence not far away at Aughanteeroe, Gort Road, Ennis, reports The Mirror.
In the case, Mr Quinn – who appeared via video link from Limerick prison – pleaded guilty to unlawfully entering the closed Vaughan’s Garden Centre on the night of February 10th with the intent to steal, under Section 12 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act.
Ms Godfrey said that Quinn walked to the garden centre, loaded a trolley with goods, and pushed it along the pavement back to his home, unknowingly dropping compost along the way.
She explained that Gardai followed the compost trail, discovered pots and various stolen gardening items in Quinn’s back garden, and proceeded to arrest and charge him. Quinn then appeared in court and entered a guilty plea, reports The Mirror.
Ms Godfrey said her client regrets the incident and has remained in custody since March 17th in connection with the charge. She noted that burglary was not typical of his previous offences and was linked to his mental condition at the time.
She added that some of the stolen items were recovered. Ms Godfrey also stated that Quinn has limited recollection of the incident due to medication he had been prescribed for medical issues, reports The Mirror.
She told the court that Quinn had suffered a brain injury following a car crash several years ago. Before that, he had shown promise as a chef, a career he occasionally returns to.
She also mentioned that Quinn’s father was dying during September and October of the previous year, and around that time, Quinn experienced repeated seizures and spent six weeks in hospital, making it an especially challenging period for him. She said he later became homeless and was staying with his brother-in-law, reports The Mirror.
Sgt O’Grady revealed that Quinn has 66 prior convictions, including 15 for theft and five for burglary. Judge Alec Gabbett inquired about Quinn’s past engagement with the Probation Services and ordered a two-week remand for a probation report to be submitted by April 23rd.
Judge Gabbett stated that he was mainly focused on post-release supervision and wanted to explore what kind of support could be offered to Quinn after his release, considering the complexity of his background, reports The Mirror.
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