Night porter saw woman in hotel during burglary

A night porter at the Imperial Hotel in Cork saw a woman on CCTV security crawling on her hands and knees after five o’clock in the morning at the hotel café where the contents of the cash register were stolen.

A young woman who was with a man in the course of this incident pleaded guilty yesterday to her part in the burglary at the Imperial Hotel on South Mall, Cork, on August 20, 2018.

Courtney O’Donoghue, aged 22, of 44, Glencurrig, South Douglas Rd, appeared at Cork District Court yesterday where Inspector Ronan Kennelly outlined the background to the 5.20am burglary on that date.

“The night porter in the Imperial observed a male exiting the café in the lobby of the hotel which was closed to the public at the time,” said Insp Kennelly said.

“He immediately started running, and the porter followed him on foot. He saw him drop a cash box outside the door of the hotel making good his escape.

“On returning to the hotel with the cash box, the night porter observed a female exiting through the main door.

"CCTV footage showed her crawling on her hands and knees behind the counter of the café.”

She also admitted her part in a theft two days earlier at the bus station on Parnell Place, when a 77-year-old man was counting his cash on his lap and someone grabbed some of the cash and ran off.

The inspector said that the man with the defendant was the one who was more heavily involved in the crime, but that there was an element of joint enterprise.

Insp Kennelly said the elderly man died last year. Judge O’Leary said that because the complainant is deceased he would dismiss that theft charge.

Eddie Burke, defence solicitor, said O’Donoghue was very vulnerable and got herself involved in a relationship with the man referred to by the inspector and had ended up with an addiction difficulty.

“She was very much on the periphery of these matters,” the solicitor said, adding that she has engaged in rehabilitation.

Judge O’Leary put O’Donoghue on a 12-month probation bond, to be reviewed in four months to check her progress.