Courts / Tipperary / Report

"Naive" burglar who travelled to scene on "promise of a job in the circus" has sentence cut on appeal

Summary

Vasile Stratan, a 35‑year‑old Moldovan who had been in Ireland for only four days, pleaded guilty to burglary at a Carrick‑on‑Suir home on 26 September 2013. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment by Judge Thomas Teehan on 13 March 2014. Stratan claimed he travelled to the scene on the "promise of working in a circus" and that he was merely "casing houses", not the organiser of the offence. His barrister, Pauline Walley, argued that the sentencing judge had not considered his guilty plea, lack of prior convictions, health problems and his status as a non‑national with no English. On appeal, Justice Seán Ryan agreed that the judge had erred in not giving weight to these factors and, with some reluctance, ordered that the final 18 months of the sentence be suspended, leaving Stratan with a reduced custodial term. The appeal did not alter the assessment of the crime itself.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: "Naive" burglar who travelled to scene on "promise of a job in the circus" has sentence cut on appeal. Charges or matters: burglary at a home in Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary on September 26 2013. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• September 26 2013 Incident
• March 13 2014 Incident
• 2015-07-06 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Burglary Stage Appeal

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Read the original CNI report