Man who grabbed €600 from SuperValu till in Wicklow given suspended sentence
The Wicklow PeopleA Dublin man has received a fully suspended prison sentence after stealing €600 from a SuperValu supermarket in Wicklow.
Bobby Carpenter (18), of Glenvara Park, Dublin 24, appeared before a sitting of Bray District Court via video link for sentencing.
The accused pleaded guilty to one count of theft.
Sergeant Mick Dee stated that on October 10, 2025, at SuperValu on Church Road in Greystones, Mr Carpenter was standing in a queue when another customer purchased items.
The court was told Mr Carpenter waited for the till to open, put his hand over the counter, took €600 in cash, and then attempted to flee the scene.
A member of staff at the SuperValu chased the accused down the road, apprehended him and restrained him until gardaí arrived.
The court was told Mr Carpenter has no previous convictions.
During mitigation at a previous sitting, counsel for Mr Carpenter, Eamon O’Moore, remarked that his client has suffered from addiction issues since he was 14 years old, which also caused him to drop out of school at the same time.
Since entering custody, the defendant has begun studying for his Junior Certificate.
Judge David Kennedy handed Mr Carpenter a nine-month prison sentence, but suspended it in its entirety.
He warned Mr Carpenter that the sentence was imposed under Section 99, meaning that if he commits another offence during the suspension period, he could be brought back before the court and ordered to serve the nine-month sentence in prison.
A Section 99 suspension allows a judge to suspend a prison sentence on the condition that the person stays out of trouble for a set period of time. If they offend again during that period, the court can activate the original sentence.