A man who spent around 20 minutes inside a hotel room in Dundalk while two elderly women were present, before stealing money and clothing, has been sentenced to eight months in prison, reports Sunday World.
In delivering the sentence, Judge Nicola Andrews noted that Lawrence Mubango (36), who has no fixed address, had a “dreadful record”.
He appeared in court via video link, having pleaded guilty a week earlier to a burglary that took place at the Imperial Hotel on March 30, reports Sunday World.
The matter had been postponed to allow gardaí time to seek Victim Impact Statements.
However, the court was informed that the two women could not be reached, reports Sunday World.
The court heard that Mr Mubango, a father of one, had amassed 92 previous convictions.
These included a conviction for assault causing serious harm, for which he was handed a 10-year sentence in 2019, as well as charges for theft and forgery, reports Sunday World.
Defence solicitor Carol Slattery said her client had spent a significant amount of time in prison and faced difficulties readjusting to life outside.
She added he was “quite a bright young man” who was performing well in prison and was close to completing a degree, needing only one more module, reports Sunday World.
The defendant was eager to turn his life around and had missed his eight-year-old son’s First Communion.
Judge Andrews commented that the crime was “quite troubling”.
When anyone checked into a hotel they were entitled to security and not have someone sneak into their room, reports Sunday World.
She said the incident was very distressing and had a serious impact on the elderly victims, placing it at the more serious end of the scale.
An eight-month prison term was handed down, with the sentence backdated to April 1, reports Sunday World.
During the case, it was revealed that Lawrence Mubango had entered a third-floor room at the centrally located hotel at 3.20am, despite not being a guest or resident.
He remained in the room for about 20 minutes while the two elderly women were there, and made off with €500 in cash, clothing, and a purse. He left the room and the hotel by 3.38am.
Neither the purse nor the money was recovered, reports Sunday World.
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