Cork burglar jailed after betting shop break-in

Court told accused had 161 previous convictions and had relapsed over the past year

The accused was arrested soon after the offence.

A Cork man who clambered up onto a building’s flat roof and then broke a window into a betting shop has been jailed for 10 months.

John Paul Thornton, 42,  of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at Cork District Court to carrying out the burglary at Ladbrokes, Edward Walsh Road, Togher, Cork, on September 19.

The court heard the defendant had 161 previous convictions including five for robbery, six for burglary, and six for theft.

Detective Garda Denis Callanan arrested the defendant, charged him with the offence, and brought him before Cork District Court.

Det Garda Callanan said the burglary was committed at Ladbrokes overnight and Thornton gained entry by breaking a small window upstairs at the back of a building. 

Access to this area had been secured via the flat roof of an adjoining building.

He was arrested soon afterwards, detained at Togher Garda Station, and admitted the offence when he was interviewed.

Det Garda Callanan testified that there was nobody present on the premises that night.

Frank Buttimer, defence solicitor, said: “His situation had been somewhat challenging when younger. He had straightened out his situation in the last few years. He was clean of heroin addiction. He entirely stopped taking any unlawful substances.

“He suffered a relapse over the last 12 months — he loses everything, his family, his partner, his home.

“He was couch-surfing and living on the street. He got into St Helen’s in Blarney (to get clear of intoxicants). This only happened two and a half weeks ago and he pleaded guilty."