A 49-year-old man who stole a knit hoodie from a Lidl supermarket was ‘drunk and cold’ at the time of the offence.
On October 27, 2018, William Reilly – of 5 Glenard Park, Long Lane, Letterkenny – entered Lidl on Pearse Road, Letterkenny and tried on a chunky knit hoodie, worth €19.99.
The hoodie was the wrong size, so he put on a second hoodie, which fitted him. O’Reilly put on his jacket and left the premises without paying for the item.
Gardai viewed CCTV and spoke to O’Reilly on November 6, 2018, at which point the accused replied: ‘Guilty’
O’Reilly was before Letterkenny District Court in relation to the matter.
Solicitor for O’Reilly, Mr Patsy Gallagher, said his client, a 49-year-old married man, ‘fully accepted his wrong doing.’
“On the day in question, he succumbed to alcohol. He was drunk. He was freezing cold, he went into Lidl, picked up the top and everything was so blatant. There is no way that he can evade this crime. I would ask the court to take into account his early plea.”
Mr Gallagher said his client could pay back the price of the hoodie.
“This is his second conviction on a similar matter,” Judge Paul Kelly said.
“He is upping the ante for himself.”
O’Reilly, who has three previous convictions, was fined €100 and given two months to pay.