Courts / Dublin / Report
Car thief caught with stolen BMW while on probation
Summary
Alan Melia, 27, was arrested by Gardaí on a stakeout in Tallaght Village after being caught with a stolen BMW 520. He had pleaded guilty to possession of the vehicle on 29 September 2020. Melia had 92 prior convictions, including theft, vehicle‑related offences, burglary, criminal damage and arson. The BMW was found in the New Bancroft Apartments car park; officers observed him approaching the car, taking items from behind the rear bumper, and entering it. He was taken into custody with a key, pliers and gloves. The car was damaged and written off by the insurer. Melia's defence cited his ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder diagnoses and a difficult upbringing. The court imposed a two‑year imprisonment sentence for handling the stolen car, activated 18 months of a suspended sentence, and left 12 months suspended for a year. The case remains at the sentencing stage.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Car thief caught with stolen BMW while on probation. Charges or matters: the charge of possession of a BMW 520 in the car park of the New Bancroft Apartments, Tallaght Village, Dublin 24, on 29 September 2020. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- 29 September 2020 Incident
- 2021-07-28 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: the charge of possession of a BMW 520 in the car park of the New Bancroft Apartments, Tallaght Village, Dublin 24, on 29 September 2020 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: She said the conviction should trigger the activation of the suspended two and a half years of his previous five-year sentence in 2017 for handling a stolen car. We can only give him the benefit of the doubt in this matter – it was a stolen item that he did not damage." He asked her to place the offence in the lower category. "The offending was carried out during a suspended sentence for an identical crime," Judge Greally said, and that was an "aggravating factor". "Mr Melia is a young man with a very long history of offending and there is a significant number of offences relating to motor vehicles – unauthorised taking, dangerous driving – along with other offences, burglary, arson, criminal damage matters," she said.
Places mentioned
- Cherry Orchard Avenue
- Dublin
Topics
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