Homeless man stole victim's phone while he slept on Longford bus
A homeless man told a court last week he was “sorry” for stealing another man's mobile phone while he slept on a Bus Éireann bus travelling from Mullingar to Longford.
Forty-three-year-old Stephen King, of no fixed abode pleaded guilty at last week's sitting of Longford District Court to the theft of a mobile phone, valued at €500 at Main Street, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford on March 11, 2020.
Sgt Mark Mahon, court presenter on behalf of the prosecution, told how gardaí were alerted to the incident at around 1pm on the day in question.
He said the accused had been sitting in a seat beside his alleged victim when the theft occurred.
CCTV footage, he added, also showed Mr King taking the phone, before the accused was later arrested and taken to Mullingar garda station for questioning.
John Quinn, defending, said Mr King had come to court with €130 by way of an offer of some recompense to his victim and was currently receiving the support of national homeless and housing charity, the Fr Peter McVerry Trust.
A support worker from the Dublin based organisation sat beside the accused throughout last Tuesday's hearing.
Mr King, himself, attempted to address the court while mitigation was being offered up, saying: “I was homeless at the time. It was wrong. It was so stupid and I am sorry.”
As he continued to speak, Judge John Brennan warned Mr King he was at risk of interrupting the affairs of court if he continued to conduct himself in such a fashion.
As order was restored, Sgt Mahon said Mr King had 19 previous convictions, four of which were for theft.
Mr Quinn said his while he had hoped for a better offer of compensation to be handed in, Mr King was man of “very limited means”.
In outlining Mr King's progress with the Fr McVerry Trust, Mr Quinn said the accused was doing “reasonably good”, something which caused Mr King to interrupt: “I am doing really, really good.”
Upon reading a victim impact statement, Judge Brennan described the episode as a “nasty enough” incident.
He referred to Mr King's positive physical demeanour in court and how the incident dated back more than three years.
He consequently sentenced him to six months in prison, suspending that term for a period of 12 months.