Man jailed for stealing ink cartridges from supermarket

Arvydos Karvelis of no fixed address in Cork was given a three-month jail term for the theft at Cork District Court.

 A 35-year-old Lithuanian national walked into a supermarket and bought a loaf of bread and paper towels but slipped €600 worth of memory sticks and ink cartridges into a holdall bag and left without paying for them.

Arvydos Karvelis of no fixed address in Cork was given a three-month jail term for the theft at Cork District Court.

Defence solicitor Eddie Burke said the accused had no previous convictions and had gathered the full amount of the compensation for the store.

Sergeant John Kelleher said the accused walked into the store on November 13, 2019 carrying a holdall bag. He filled the bag with ink cartridges and memory sticks and some other computer-related accessories and left the store without paying for them.

He only paid for a loaf of bread and paper towels which he presented at the checkout, Sgt. Kelleher said, adding that the stolen property was never recovered.

The accused has been in custody since June 28 and Judge Olann Kelleher backdated the sentence to then.

Mr Burke asked the judge not to impose the jail term in light of the absence of previous convictions and the fact that he had compensated the store in full. He said the defendant’s brother had sent the money over from the UK so that his brother could compensate the store.

The judge refused the application not to imprison him but set recognisances at €500 cash in case the defendant wanted to appeal the prison term.

The theft of the computer accessories was carried out at Tesco in The Rockquarter, Tully, Balliamore, County Leitrim.