Fleeing thief threw stolen aftershave into field

A young man threw stolen bottles of aftershave into a field as he was pursued by store detectives and yesterday he was jailed for four months.

Charlie Casey, of 1 Meelagh Drive, Mahon, pleaded guilty to the thefts.

Sgt John Kelleher said: “On December 4, 2018, at 7.20pm, the defendant entered Debenhams and selected toiletries to the value of €155 and left the store without paying.

“Charlie Casey was pursued by store security and following a foot chase Mr Casey discarded the items, namely an Armani gift set and Gucci aftershave, in a nearby field before making good his escape.”

The stolen property was retrieved.

Garda Niall Comerford attended the store and positively identified the defendant from the footage. Casey made full admissions to the theft of items.

Judge Olann Kelleher noted that the accused got a community service order before for a similar offence last year. The judge said: “You got a chance before and you didn’t take it.”

He imposed a four-month jail term.

Michael Quinlan, solicitor, said the young man was struggling and in a very bad place at the moment following the tragic death of his brother four months ago. Mr Quinlan said there were other difficulties in the defendant’s background and that he was suffering from depression.