Man jailed for ‘brazenly’ pushing trolleys filled with €1,200 of goods out of Tesco store
“A completely brazen and wholly unacceptable act of theft,” is how a judge has described an incident when two men pushed trolleys filled with goods from a Drogheda supermarket.
John Joyce (24) one of the two caught on CCTV at Tesco Extra, Donore Road, contested a theft summons in respect of property worth more than €1,200.
The defendant, of Jordanstown, Oldtown, Dublin, said it wasn't him on the footage.
However, Judge Nicola Andrews didn’t believe him and imposed a three-month prison sentence.
The CCTV was played before Drogheda District Court showing two men taking items from shelves and placing them in a trolley and leaving before returning and filling a second trolley. The property was put into a car.
The total haul, worth €1,247.75, included ‘Elsa’ amd ‘Barbie’ toys and crisps.
This occurred at noon on August 28, 2023.
Evidence was given that Ashbourne Gardaí were able to identify the two men from the CCTV.
A co-accused was dealt with in 2024 when he pleaded guilty.
Defence barrister Niall Mackin applied for a dismissal on the grounds that Gardaí should have sought out the car. They neglected to seek out its owner.
Also, identification was soley based on a side of face image.
Garda Inspector Kevin Toner said that the car was checked out. It belonged to the co-accused.
Judge Andrews rejected both defence applications.
John Joyce, a father of 2 children with another on the way, testified that it was “definitely not me” in the footage.
He couldn’t think where he was that day. He was from Ashbourne and not familiar with Drogheda.
"I don’t know where Tesco Extra is,” he continued.
The defendant repeated to Inspector Toner that it wasn’t him. He couldn’t really recall where he was that day. It was 3 years ago.
Judge Andrews remarked that having viewed the CCTV and observed the accused in the witness box, she was satisfied it was John Joyce.
“This was a completely brazen and wholly unacceptable act of theft in front of CCTV cameras.”
The judge continued it showed a complete disregard for the law.
She said Mr Joyce persisted that it wasn’t in fact him, a complete refusal to accept responsibility.
The court heard of 27 previous convictions, among them 13 for theft.
Mr Mackin said that his client was on disability allowance. He was a painter/decorator for no pay on a community employment scheme for the Traveller community.
His mother, who he had cared for, passed away some months ago after a long illness.
Bail to appeal was set at a €200 cash lodgement, with a condtion that Mr Joyce stays out of Co. Louth.