Burglar wrote off stolen Jag while high on drugs

A MAN who broke into a south Dublin home while on drugs and made off in a Jaguar that crashed and was written off has been given a suspended sentence.
Jamie Daly (20), with an address in Carlyle House, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary and unlawful possession of a motor vehicle at Weavers Place in Blackrock on February 17 this year.
He received a suspended three-year sentence.
The court heard Daly and a co-accused broke into a house in Blackrock and were “lurking” there for some time as they gathered up expensive items to steal.
Garda Kerrie-Ann Deegan told the court she was called to the house shortly after 5pm, where the owner, Ron O’Sullivan, reported he woke up to find a man in his bedroom.
Mr O’Sullivan said he chased the man downstairs only to find Daly coming out of the kitchen. The pair then made off in Mr O’Sullivan’s black Jaguar car, which was driven by the co-accused.
Gda Deegan said she and her colleague came across the car shortly afterwards crashed on the side of the road. “One of the wheels had come off,” she said.
Two large TVs, a laptop, an iPad and a watch which had been taken from Mr O’Sullivan’s house were found inside the car.
Daly and his co-accused were identified by CCTV footage and charged. His accomplice was given a five-year sentence, with the final year suspended, said Marie Torrens BL, prosecuting.
Daly has four previous convictions for minor offences, the court heard. He was homeless at the time of the offence after his family was “driven out of Ballymun”, defence barrister, Michael Hourigan BL, said.
Mr Hourigan added that Daly now had accommodation, but his immediate family members were still living in hotel and hostel accommodation.
The court heard Daly was on drugs at the time and had little recollection of the offence.
He had since rehabilitated himself and enrolled in a horticulture course in Blackrock Further Education In-stitute. He engaged positively with the Probation Service, the court heard.
Sentencing Daly, Judge Pauline Codd said the burglary was aggravated by the fact the pair spent a long time in Mr O’Sullivan’s home. “It is deeply upsetting for many people to have someone lurking in their house,” she said.
However, she noted Daly had since turned his life around and had already made “great strides in correcting his offending behaviour and his thinking”.
“He has gained an awareness and a capacity for self-reflection regarding his behaviour and its ef-fects on others,” said Judge Codd.