Courts / Dublin / Report
Jail for serial phone thief
Summary
A 28-year-old man from Tallaght has been sentenced to 20 months imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to stealing five iPhones from Three mobile phone stores across the country between November 3 and 7, 2015. Viorel Rostas participated in robberies in Navan, Cavan, Letterkenny in Donegal, and Tralee and Killarney in Kerry. Rather than stealing the phones himself, Rostas acted as a distraction or obstructed staff attempting to prevent the thefts while accomplices took the devices, which were collectively valued at over €3,500. Judge John Aylmer considered Rostas's guilty plea and €1,000 compensation offered as mitigating factors, but noted his previous convictions for theft made a suspended sentence inappropriate. The court heard Rostas became involved following his mother's death and financial pressure from a loan taken for funeral expenses in Romania. None of the five phones were recovered by gardaí.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Jail for serial phone thief. Charges or matters: stealing five iPhones from five separate Three mobile phone stores around the country; taking part in both of the robberies committed in Kerry and received a two-year suspended sentence. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- November 3 Incident
- November 4 Incident
- November 7 Incident
- December 1, 2015 Incident
- July 2015 Incident
- February 2003 Other
- 2017-07-24 Publication
Why: Rostas, who was born in Romania but has lived in Ireland for over 20 years, took a loan of €10,000 in order to arrange for numerous family members living in Ireland to return to Romania for his mother's funeral. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: stealing five iPhones from five separate Three mobile phone stores around the country; taking part in both of the robberies committed in Kerry and received a two-year suspended sentence (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge Aylmer said that the previous convictions of theft gave him pause when considering a suspended sentence.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Main Street
- Cavan
- Letterkenny
- Donegal
- Tralee
- Killarney
Topics
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