Mechanic claims ownership over stolen 4x4

A mechanic claims he owns a Land Rover Discovery jeep he bought in Limerick on Christmas Eve from an ad on the Done Deal website but which turned out to be stolen.

The 4x4 was seized by gardaí from a forecourt of a garage on the Dingle Road in Jan 2012 after a garda car’s automatic number plate detection system identified it as suspect.

The 4x4, which continues to lose value and is now worth just €5,000, is also being claimed by Allianz Insurance, which paid €21,000 in compensation to the original owner of the vehicle.

There were heated exchanges between the solicitors for the parties at Tralee District Court yesterday, with Pa Daly, solicitor for Marcin Golonek, who is not charged with any offence, objecting to a line of questioning by solicitor for Allianz, Tom O’Halloran.

Mr Golonek, originally from Poland and with an address at Lee Drive, Tralee, spotted the 4x4 on Done Deal and, at 7am on Christmas Eve 2011, drove to Limerick with the advertised price of over €5,250 in cash to examine the vehicle and pick it up. Some of the cash was his own and some was from his girlfriend.

He managed to buy the vehicle for €4,250, but got only photocopied documents and had no receipt for the cash transaction, he told the court.

However, Mr Golonek said he was satisfied the 4x4 was authentic and that it had been brought in from Britain and re-registered in Ireland, as he checked it out on a number of websites and took photographs of the Limerick location.

Garda Inspector Jim O’Brien, who examined the vehicle after it had been seized, found the chassis number on the floor, under the body and in other parts had been “cut away and changed”. In fact, it had been registered with Kildare County Council with forged documents by a man called Mr Ward, who pretended it was a British vehicle. Mr Ward was not contactable, and neither was the number on the Done Deal ad.

Following further investigation, Garda O’Brien found the vehicle was an 08D registration, not 07D as purported, had not come from Britain, and he traced it as stolen during a burglary in Kilcock, Co Kildare, in Feb 2010.

Advertised on Done Deal for €5,250, the 4x4 was slightly damaged but was worth €10,000 to €11,000 in late 2011, Garda O’Brien told the court. It is now worth only €5,000, he said.

Allianz paid €21,000 to the original owner for the theft, and the insurance company now claims it is the owner and has the original certificate of registration, said Mr O’Halloran.

Mr Golonek accepts the vehicle he bought was not genuine but says that at the time he had no reason to be suspicious.

“I went on Christmas Eve because I knew it was a good deal,” Mr Golonek told the court. “I worked for my money. I didn’t find it on the street. I have three kids. I left my family that day because I wanted to make some money.”

Mr Daly said he strongly objected to the line of questioning by Mr O’Halloran, who asked Mr Golonek where he got the cash for the transaction and why he had no documentation with him and at what time he set out to buy the vehicle.

At one stage, Mr O’Halloran told Mr Daly to “sit down”, but Mr Daly insisted he would not. “I am staying on my feet,” Mr Daly replied.

“What difference does it make what time he set out,” Mr Daly asked at one point in proceedings. “We are here to determine who has the better claim of right to the vehicle. Allianz are not even here.”

However, Judge James O’Connor said it was important for Mr Golonek to answer the questions.

The case was adjourned and will be brought back before the court in two weeks when representative of Allianz Insurance Company will give evidence of their ownership.