Car theft addict in the hands of the law

A man addicted to stealing cars faced sentencing yesterday for two more such crimes and the judge asked of the culprit with 214 convictions: “What are we going to do, short of cutting his hands off, which I wouldn’t like to do.”

Judge Aingil Ní Chondúin had just read the background probation report on Jason O’Brien, aged 33, in which his difficulties and past offending were outlined.

The judge said: “I don’t have a magic wand,” adding that it was difficult to know what to do with O’Brien.