Courts / Cork / Report
First remote hearing of criminal Court of Appeal sees sentence cut
Summary
In a remote hearing of the criminal side of the Court of Appeal, Judge John Edwards reduced the sentence of Romanian national Mihai Tache, 31, who had been jailed for four years for handling 67 stolen mobile phones worth just over €17,000. The original six‑year headline sentence was deemed excessive; the court set a headline of four‑and‑a‑half years, applied the one‑third mitigating discount, and imposed a net sentence of three years. The court declined to suspend any portion of the sentence, noting Tache's significant record and prior reoffending. The decision was made after submissions by Ms Kitty Perle BL on Tache's behalf and was delivered by the Court of Appeal President, Mr Justice George Birmingham, and Ms Justice Una Ni Raifeartaigh. The hearing was the first of its kind to involve the judges and lawyers via video link. Mihai Tache pleaded guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: First remote hearing of criminal Court of Appeal sees sentence cut. Charges or matters: handling 67 stolen mobile phones worth just over €17,000 at his home address on October 4, 2018. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- May 13 Hearing Or Sentence
- October 4, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2020-04-22 Publication
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: handling 67 stolen mobile phones worth just over €17,000 at his home address on October 4, 2018 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Mihai Tache (31) was jailed for four years by Judge Brian O'Callaghan at Cork Circuit Criminal Court having been caught "red-handed" with bags filled with stolen high-end smartphones that were stashed in a wardrobe and under his bed. The judge said the court did not consider it appropriate to consider suspending any portion of the sentence as it noted Tache had a significant record, was a recidivist handler of stolen property and had been afforded the benefits of a suspended sentence in the past but had reoffended.
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