Nenagh man who took wallet thinking it was his own is put on probation bond

Nenagh Court was told that aTipperary motorist who turned back at a Garda checkpoint had no insurance

placeholder image — Nenagh Court was told that aTipperary motorist who turned back at a Garda checkpoint had no insurance

A man who stole a wallet from a Nenagh store has been put on a probation bond by Judge Elizabeth MacGrath at Nenagh District Court.

Hussein Metawee of 4 Thomond Place, Nenagh, was convicted in the same court last year of the theft of €380 at Cleary’s Daybreak service station, Limerick Road, Nenagh, on February 15, 2022.

He had claimed he mistakenly took a wallet containing cash and cards from the counter.

Dara McGrath had told the earlier court that he had placed his wallet on the counter when paying but discovered he had enough in cash to pay for the items.

The following morning he had received a phone call asking if he had lost anything and that his wallet had been found inside a post box at the post office in Nenagh.

Everything was in the wallet with the exception of cash to the value of around €400, he said.

The court had heard that Mr Metawee was later identified removing the wallet through CCTV recovered from the shop.

Det Garda Stuart Beattie had told the court he interviewed Mr Metawee and during that interview Mr Metawee claimed he had taken the wallet by mistake as it looked similar to his own.

Mr Metawee had said that when he discovered he had the wrong wallet he walked to the post office and put it in the post box.

He had denied taking the cash.

In his direct evidence, Mr Metawee had said that he did not have his glasses on at the time and thought it was his wallet.

Mr Metawee had said that he never opened the wallet when he realised it was not his.

“I didn’t know what to do with it. I went for a walk thinking what to do. I came across the post box. I was tired and not focused and my mind was racing. I can’t explain why I didn’t go to the Garda Station,” he had said.

Mr Metawee had said that taking the wallet had been a “mistake”, but he would accept whatever the court decided.

“I am a religious man. I have been to Mecca,” he had told the court.

Convicting, Judge MacGrath had ordered Mr Metawee to have a total of €500 in court.

When the case returned to court last Friday, she was told Mr Metawee had paid over €530 in compensation.

She placed him on a probation bond for one year in his own bond of €250.