Laois man gets jail for stealing bottle of coca cola
Portlaoise Courthouse
A LOCAL man who stole a €2.80 bottle of coca cola was given a one-month custodial sentence when he appeared at Portlaoise District Court last week.
Patrick Kelly (30), O’Moore Place, Portlaoise, who is currently serving a prison sentence with a release date in May next year, pleaded guilty to the theft of the coca cola on 24 February from Spar, Station Road, Portarlington and to being intoxicated in a public place and to engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour at Market Square, Portlaoise on 10 February.
Garda Sgt JJ Kirby said the defendant went into the Spar store and took the bottle of coca cola and left without paying for it.
Regarding the public order offences in Portlaoise, Sgt Kirby said that Mr Kelly was in a highly intoxicated state when gardaí came upon him. There were other members of the public present and he was roaring and shouting and had to be arrested.
Sgt Kirby said the defendant had 54 previous convictions.
Defence solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said that while her client acknowledges the theft is small, he appreciates that it was a nuisance to the shop owner.
Judge Susan Fay said she was not going to add extra time onto Mr Kelly’s current sentence.
She went on to convict him of the theft and imposed a one-month sentence to commence from the day he appeared in court last week.
She took the two public order matters into consideration.
