A woman who confessed to stealing €200 worth of merchandise from a Lidl store in County Cork was given a five-month jail term, reports Breaking News.
Bridget O’Driscoll, 30, of Williamstown Way, Airport Road, Waterford, was charged with one count of theft in connection with the incident, according to court presenter Sergeant Linda O’Leary, who spoke before Youghal District Court.
According to the court, four women entered the Lidl shop on Mill Road in Youghal, County Cork, on July 25, 2022, reports Breaking News.
They were seen packing €200 worth of merchandise into a shopping bag and then heading out the door without paying for it.
CCTV captured Ms. O’Driscoll leaving the store with the bag in her hand, reports Breaking News.
James Moore, the defence attorney, told the judge that his client’s life was “chaotic” at the time of the incident.
TheLiberal.ie won’t quit
Please support us with a small donation on PayPal!
He said that she had “settled down” and moved into a new home, and that she was the mother of five children, including a five-month-old. She was “asking the court to give her a chance,” he added, considering the age of her children, reports Breaking News.
Ms. O’Driscoll has 26 prior convictions, including 13 for theft, including three for crimes that occurred in Waterford on the same day as this offence, the court was informed.
When the accused was found guilty of stealing as recently as August 2024 and given a suspended sentence, Judge Brian O’Shea questioned, “When is it going to stop?”
When Ms. O’Driscoll committed prior crimes, she was the mother of four children, the judge stated, adding that “she’s not thinking about the children when she’s stealing, only when she is in court,” reports Breaking News.
The judge ruled that Ms. O’Driscoll’s history of prior theft convictions was a major aggravating circumstance and that a prior suspended sentence had not stopped her from stealing.
Bridget O’Driscoll was found guilty and given a five-month jail term. In the case of an appeal, recognition was set in her own €200 cash bond, reports Breaking News.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
