Serial burglar, who would steal to get food or clothes, jailed for robbing €26k in cash and cheques

A homeless Cork man who scored a “win” when he made off with over €10,000 cash and €16,000 cheques after a random burglary has been jailed for two and a half years.

Serial burglar John Paul Sheehan (aged 38) was arrested the same day for a drugs offence and caught with €9,475 of the stolen cash on his person.

He told gardaí he had spent about €90 of the missing balance on clothes and food.

Sheehan, who is of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to trespass and theft of the cash, cheques and a €100 Panasonic Lumix camera at Dublin Visitors Centre, Grafton Street, Dublin, on July 13, 2016.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard he has 100 previous convictions for mostly burglaries.

Defence counsel Michael Miley submitted to Judge Terence O'Sullivan that “it was kind of like getting a win” when his client realised there was so much money involved.

Detective Garda Sarah Barry told Gerardine Small BL, prosecuting, that a staff member opened the business and noticed a smashed window at the back of the premises. She phoned gardaí and cancelled the cheques.

The detective said this staff member, Kate Murphy, suffered stress from the incident because another colleague had not followed protocol and had locked €10,333 in a drawer instead of the safe.

Ms Murphy had to explain to her bosses what had happened as a result of this colleague's actions. The stolen camera was never recovered.

Det Gda Barry told Ms Small that she viewed CCTV footage overlooking a laneway granting access to the Dublin Visitors Centre roof.

She identified Sheehan, who was arrested later that day for a drugs offence.

Sheehan made full admissions on arrest, saying he had been walking around looking for “something to rob” when he got in the window and took the money.

Det Gda Barry agreed with Mr Miley that the premises had been empty during the burglary.

Mr Miley submitted to Judge O'Sullivan that most of his client's crimes had been committed to help him get food or clothes or to feed his drug habit.

He said Sheehan did better in prison because there he had a roof over his head and a certain amount of care.

He described Sheehan as a “sad case” and someone who had “fallen through the cracks”.

Judge O'Sullivan said he was taking Sheehan's guilty plea into account but noted that it was “tricky” because homeless and drug addicted people can be under compulsion to steal to feed their habit.

He imposed no structured suspended element in the sentence because he said there didn't seem to be any indication of rehabilitation for Sheehan at this time.