Man to be sentenced for 'deception at its best' of Woodies stores in Cork

The man would buy something, load it into his car before going back and grabbing another from the shelf to "return" it.

In one of the crimes committed on April 5 at Woodies on Kinsale Road, a €300 pressure washer was taken. File picture: Eddie O'Hare

A 44-year-old man carried out a scam at Woodies stores in Cork buying something like a power washer and loading it into his car only to return and grab another from the shelf to "return" it.

Sergeant Pat Lyons described the modus operandi for the thefts by deception committed by Christian Sounga of Glenfields Avenue, Ballyvolane, Cork.

In one of the crimes committed on April 5 at Woodies on Kinsale Road, a €300 pressure washer was taken. Sergeant Pat Lyons said the accused went to Woodies on that day and bought a pressure washer for €300. He placed it in his vehicle and re-entered the store empty-handed a short time later.

CCTV later showed him picking a second pressure washer from the shelf and using the receipt from the earlier purchase to get a refund for the washer he had just picked off the shelf and not paid for on April 5. The same methodology was used on three other occasions. 

On March 31 at Woodies in Blackpool, Cork, a multi-tool set worth €200 was stolen. On April 2 at Woodies in Blackpool, a brush-cutter worth €230 was stolen. Finally, on May 9 at the same store another €300 pressure washer was stolen.

Sergeant Lyons said that between the four offences Woodies were at a loss for €1,030. Previously, the defendant was convicted twice for theft, twice for driving without insurance and once for begging.

Mitigation

Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said in mitigation that the defendant was not employed in March through to May.

“But he has since secured employment and is in a position to make compensation payment. He is 44 years old. He is a Congolese national, married and living with his family in Cork. He is settled here.” 

As for the deception offences, the solicitor said the defendant succeeded in getting away with it the first time and then did it again.

Judge Alec Gabbett said a probation report was necessary in advance of sentencing. “It is serious enough. The deception aspect of this concerns me. This is deception at its best – and that is the bit that troubles me,” Judge Gabbett said.

Sentencing was adjourned until November 16.