Court archive
Court reports mentioning Ballyknockan, Wicklow
2017-01-13 · Wicklow
Anthonie Van Wilderoden, a 44‑year‑old Dutch national living in Wicklow, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for a professional shop‑lifting scheme. He operated a business called Eddiebug that sold edible insects and also directed a chocolate‑making company. Van Wilderoden admitted to placing online adverts on the Donedeal website for household goods, then stealing the items from stores such as Arnotts, Curries and Harvey Norman. He used a modified baby's pram to conceal items including a Nespresso machine, crockery sets, a vacuum cleaner and an electric blanket. He was also convicted of stealing a €900 Jimmy Choo handbag from Brown Thomas, claiming it was a Mother's Day present. The judge suspended the last six months of the sentence because he is a foreign national. He had previously been arrested in 2015 and again after the handbag theft, and had fled to Belgium before his sentence date, where he was later apprehended under a European Arrest Warrant. Van Wilderoden pleaded guilty.
2017-01-12 · Wicklow
Anthonie Van Wilderoden, a 44-year-old Dutch national and businessman, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to ten sample counts of theft from four stores between December 2014 and March 2015. He also admitted possession of a specially modified pram and three stolen gold-plated mirrors. The court heard that Van Wilderoden allegedly ran a professional shoplifting scheme, placing advertisements on the Donedeal website for high-value household goods which he then stole from Arnotts, Curries, Harvey Norman, and Brown Thomas. He used a modified baby's pram to conceal items, including a Nespresso machine, crockery, and a vacuum cleaner. Although he claimed the thefts were driven by heavy debt and personal hardship, he has 19 previous convictions across Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium for fraud, forgery, theft, and embezzlement. After entering an early guilty plea, Van Wilderoden fled to Belgium before his sentencing date. He was subsequently arrested under a European Arrest Warrant and returned to Ireland in November 2016. Defence counsel highlighted his history of childhood abuse and financial instability, noting he was "totally incapable of handling money." Counsel stated that Van Wilderoden had purchased a plane ticket to the Netherlands and was willing to promise not to return to Ireland if granted a suspended sentence. The matter is currently at the sentencing stage, with Judge Cormac Quinn scheduled to hand down the sentence.