Six-month prison sentence for a Tipperary man who stole and crashed a van

A Thurles man has been given a six-month prison sentence for stealing and crashing a van, leaving the owner at a loss of €17,000.

Aaron Dunne, 21 of 42 Monakeeba plead guilty to the unauthorised taking of a vehicle at Ballycurran on January 25, 2021.

Gardaí told the court that at 4:25am, they received a report of a stolen van.

They said the owner had been on his way to work, started the van, but had gone back into his house to collect something.

He heard revving, and by the time he came outside, the van was gone.

Thirty minutes later, while collecting the statement from the owner, the guards received a call that the van had been involved in a collision in Archerstown, Thurles.

He told the court that when gardaí arrived, nobody was present at the scene.

The court heard that the defendant was identified from CCTV footage and DNA evidence from the airbag.

He was subsequently arrested and taken to Templemore Garda Station.

AT A LOSS

In his victim impact statement, the owner of the van, said he had bought the van the previous July.

He said it was early morning and very cold. He had gone back to the house to get his flask.

He told the court that the van was not covered by insurance because the keys were in the ignition.

The owner suffered a total of €17,000 loss from the cost of the van, lost earnings and the cost of renting another vehicle.

Solicitor for the defendant JJ Fitzgerald, told the court that the incident was three years ago, and his client was now “on the straight and narrow.”

He said his client was of modest means, receiving only €112 a week in social welfare payment.

However, Judge Elizabeth MacGrath said she considered the case to be a “very serious matter”.

“This man has lost €17,000 due to your clients actions.

“To take a van, crash it and then leave it and an individual at such a loss,”said Judge MacGrath.

She said she doubted that the defendant could pay damages.

Judge MacGrath sentenced the defendant to six months in prison and said she would not suspend any of the sentence. She also disqualified him from driving for two years.