A man who stole more than €2,000 worth of perfumes from the premises of Donegal businesswoman Ramona Nicholas must pay the cost of the stolen goods back or face jail.
Mamuli Zhorzholiani took a total of 42 bottles of perfumes and aftershaves in two raids on Cara Pharmacy in Killybegs.
Garda Paul McCrossan told Letterkenny District Court that the 27-year-old took the items along with another unidentified man on August 16th and 22nd last.
Garda McCrossan told the court that Zhorzholiani was captured on still footage on a CCTV system at the pharmacy.
A total of 25 bottles of perfume worth €1,041 was taken from the shop on August 16th but was never recovered.
A few days later on August 22nd, a total of 17 bottles of perfume worth €1,118 was taken by the same two men.
Ramona Nicholas
These bottles were recovered when Gardai chased the suspect down the Main Street in Killybegs.
The court was told that the accused man is a Georgian national who has been living in Ireland as an asylum seeker for the past six months.
His address was given as Montague House Hotel in Portlaoise.
When asked by Judge Deirdre Gearty what was he doing so far from his home, solicitor for the accused Mr Rory O’Brien said his client had told him he had never been in Killybegs before and simply wanted to visit.
Judge Gearty asked Zhorzholiani how he was going to compensate the shop for the loss of more than €1,000 of perfume taken in the first raid.
The accused man said he did not want to go to jail and asked for some time to come up with the money.
Judge Gearty adjourned the case until January and said that if the money was paid she would fine the accused €100 and apply the Probation Act.
However, if no attempt was made to pay the compensation, she would impose a jail sentence of one month and suspend it for 12 months.
She released the accused on bail, ordered him to be of good behaviour and told him to stay out of Killybegs.