'Serious thefts': Judge sentences serial Longford shoplifter with 204 convictions
The defendant pleaded guilty in Longford District Court to a spate of shoplifting over €2,700 of groceries between June and September 2026 from a multitude of Longford supermarkets.
A 36-year-old man with 204 previous convictions has been jailed for more than a year for stealing groceries worth over €2,700 from several different stores in Longford town.
Jimmy Ward of Armada Cottages, Bundoran, County Donegal, pleaded guilty recently in Longford District Court to a spate of shoplifting offences.
Sergeant Enda Daly, for the State, said the thefts occurred between June and September from various stores, and the total value of shoplifted groceries was €2,784.
The court heard the defendant carried out a number of the offences with a co-accused Helen Doyle who was sentenced directly after him.
Ward pleaded guilty to stealing groceries worth €150 from Lidl in Longford town and leaving Tesco in the county town with food items valued at €352.50 on July 5 last as well as taking a Febreze Fabric Refresher worth €66 from the same store the following day.
He also pleaded guilty to the theft of groceries valued at €43 from Lidl in the county town on July 11.
Ward also admitted stealing food and drink worth €196 from Tesco in Longford town on September 19 last.
The defendant had 204 previous convictions.
Sgt Daly addressed Judge Bernadette Owens and said Ward had triggered a suspended sentences with his spate of shoplifting in 2026.
Judge Owens heard he was handed a two-year prison sentence in May, 2025 at Longford Circuit Court for 'burglary intent' with the final nine months suspended and he was bound to the peace for four years.
The defendant, who has been in custody since October 6, represented himself due to the ongoing legal aid dispute.
Ward claimed he had never been in Longford Circuit Court in his life and that he had been sentenced in Roscommon Circuit Court and Sligo Circuit Court.
Judge Owens asked Sgt Daly if he was satisfied with his information and the prosecuting officer replied that he was and those were the records.
She then asked Ward if he had anything to say and he subsequently addressed her, outlining some of the personal difficulties he had faced.
"I apologise to the court for what I did, but I was off the drugs for two and a half years and I relapsed.
"I'm hoping to get help with the drugs and I'm trying to stay off the drugs," he added.
Judge Owens addressed Ward and she spoke about the affect that the spate of shoplifting offences by both him and his co-accused Helen Doyle had on Longford town.
"I accept both defendants were in the throes of addiction but there was a spread of offences over a number of months orchestrated where serious thefts were perpetrated on various businesses in the town and I have to reflect that."
Judge Owens convicted Ward and she sentenced him to 17 months in prison.
She decided to suspend the last four months for a period of 18-months on condition that he engages with and follows all directions of the probation service.