Littleton man accused of burglary admitted to stealing cannabis

A man accused of burglary stole cannabis from a house, Thurles District Court has heard.

The defendant was tried alongside another man who was accused of a second offence the day before.

24-year-old Jim Bob Keane of 6 Derrynaflan Avenue, Littleton was charged with burglary on August 30, 2021 at an address in the Thurles area.

24-year-old Liam Quinlan of 27 Caisleán Cuirt, Thurles was also charged with two counts of burglary on August 29 and 30, 2021 at the same address. However, both charges against Mr Quinlan were dismissed.

EVIDENCE

The witness told the court that at approximately 8pm on August 29, she was in bed when she heard the doorbell followed by someone on the stairs. She said her husband was out of the house, and her two sons were in bed. She told the court that got up to investigate and found a man “ransacking” her son’s room and shouted at her for money.

She screamed at him to get out, and he pushed her out of the way, before running down the stairs and out the door with something under his jacket.

The woman identified the man as Liam Quinlan, whom she said she did not know personally but could recognise.

The woman did not call the guards that night, and when asked why not, she replied that “she was all over the place”, and she and her sons were okay.

However, the woman told the court that the following day, on August 30, three men came to the door. She told them to go away and her adult son went outside.

She said she was watching when her son was pressed up to the window with a “pleading look” on his face.

When she let him in, two of the three men pushed their way into the house, with one of them holding “something” to her son’s back.

She again identified that man as Liam Quinlan. The second man who, she told the court was Jim Bob Keane, ran upstairs and into her teenage son’s bedroom.

She told the court that she tried to pull Mr Quinlan off her son while calling to her other son, who was shouting for Mr Keane to leave his room.

He did and entered her adult son’s room before running downstairs and out the door.

Mr Quinlan, she told the court, brought her adult son outside, and when he came back in, Mr Quinlan had left. It was then that she informed the gardaí.

‘FLABBERGASTED’

The solicitor for both defendants, Colm Morrissey, said he was “flabbergasted” by the witness’ version of events.

He told the court that it was his client’s position that they had been invited to the house by her son to buy drugs. And they had not pushed their way in but had been let in.

He told the court that his clients say they were allowed into the house on “numerous occasions.”

“I have to put it to you that simply isn’t true, that you are exaggerating,” said Mr Morrissey.

However, the witness denied this, saying she never allowed the accused into the house.

She said while she could not say for certain her son had not invited them, she, as the homeowner, did not allow them into the house.

She told the court that she told the men this many times. Mr Morrissey also put it to the witness that his client Mr Quinlan had not shouted for money, and he had not taken anything from the house.

The witness told the court that she did not know what he had taken, but there was something concealed under his jacket.

Mr Morrisey asked the witness why she could not identify Mr Keane at the time of giving her statement. She said she had checked with her son, who confirmed the identity of Mr Keane as the second man.

The judge asked the witness if her son had been awake on the first night. The witness said she could not recall her son’s reaction.

GARDA EVIDENCE

The arresting garda told the court that both men were interviewed following their arrest.

Mr Quinlan told him that he was in the room on August 29, at the son’s invitation, but that he didn’t take anything. He said he had bought drugs from the woman’s son.

He told the guard that the woman called him a “scumbag” and shouted at him to leave, which he did. He confirmed he was also at the house on August 30 but again that the son had invited him in.

He told gardaí he had text messages to that effect.

The garda said the woman’s statement accused Mr Quinlan of having a knife and taking €70. Which Mr Quinlan called “b***s**t”.

The guard told the court that in his statement Mr Keane said that he regularly bought drugs at the house.

On that day, they had been buying three bags of cannabis for €25 each.

He had gone to the house and met with the witness’ son, who invited them in while he retrieved the cannabis. Mr Keane told the guards that the woman became very upset.

While the mother and son had been arguing, Mr Keane said he saw four grams of cannabis on a Bob Marley tray on the stairs.

Mr Keane told gardaí that he took the drugs and left.

He said Mr Quinlan followed shortly afterwards.

He also told gardaí it was not his intention to make the witness feel “unsafe in her home”.

The guard told the court that the witness’s older son had refused to make a statement, and they had not been permitted to speak to the younger son.

Gardaí told the court that the phone with the messages could not be accessed, and so the existence of the messages could not be confirmed.

THRESHOLDS

Mr Morrissey told the court that it was his opinion that there was no evidence of trespass as the men were invited.

He also argued that there was no evidence that anything was taken. Inspector James White of Thurles Garda Station speaking for the State, said the witness had made it clear that she did not want them there.

And in relation to the second incident, Mr Keane said he had taken the cannabis from the house.

Mr Morrissey called it a “stretch” to argue that the drugs were stolen.

However, Inspector White said, “stranger things have happened”.

He argued that cannabis has a value and was taken without permission.

Furthermore, the defendants admitted that they went to the house intending to buy drugs, which is an offence.

A CASE TO ANSWER

Judge Elizabeth MacGrath said she was satisfied that the men did not have permission to be on the property.

She said the son’s invitation did not qualify as permission.

However, in relation to the first incident, there is no evidence that anything was taken, and so, the threshold of burglary was not met.

In relation to the second incident, she has heard no evidence on the stand that money was taken.

Therefore, she would dismiss the case against Mr Quinlan.

However, she accepted Mr Keane’s admission of having stolen the cannabis on August 30.

She said regarding this incident, “there was a case to be answered for”.

MR KEANE

Mr Keane gave evidence to the court that he did take the cannabis from the house.

He told the court that he did not steal it as he had given the witness’s son the money outside the house.

He said he had been at the house earlier that day but that the cannabis was ‘not good enough’ and went back to get a new bag.

“This was just a simple drug deal gone wrong,” said Mr Keane.

Inspector White asked Mr Keane if he had permission to take the cannabis, and the defendant said a transaction had taken place.

However, the State told the court that according to the statement made by Mr Keane at the time, he had not given over any money, and that was why he was invited into the house.

JUDGEMENT

Judge MacGrath said she accepted that Mr Keane had trespassed on the property, and while he did not intend to steal while he was there, he did intend to purchase drugs.

The situation did, however, lead him to steal them.

In mitigation, Mr Morrissey said Mr Keane had “turned a corner”. He said his client was in employment and drug-free. Judge

MacGrath remanded the case back to October and ordered a probation report.

She told the defendant it was in his best interests to comply with the probation service.