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'What do you expect. I am a drug addict': phone snatcher to gardai

Summary

William Kinlan, 36, with 206 prior convictions, was jailed for 16 months after stealing a phone from a young woman on a bus stop in Dublin. He cycled past the victim, took her phone, and left it on a windowsill. Garda Michael O'Donnell, who heard the woman scream, recognised Kinlan and pursued him, arresting him on the spot. Kinlan claimed he was a drug addict needing money to repay a drug debt. He pleaded guilty to theft at O'Connell Street on 29 February 2020, the same offence for which he had just been released from a previous sentence. The phone was returned to the victim. Judge Martin Nolan, noting Kinlan's extensive criminal history and drug addiction, imposed a 16‑month sentence consecutive to the term he was already serving, expressing doubt about his likelihood of reform. The case was prosecuted by Maurice Coffey BL and defended by Derek Cooney BL.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 'What do you expect. I am a drug addict': phone snatcher to gardai. Charges or matters: theft at O'Connell Street on February 29, 2020. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• February 29, 2020 Incident
• April 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2020-07-02 Publication

Why: He agreed a lot of Kinlan's offending was to fund his drug habit. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Drugs Stage Sentence Theft

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Read the original CNI report