Derry man jailed for theft of Dementia NI charity box

A man who committed a 'mean' offence of stealing a charity box has been jailed at Derry Magistrate's Court today. 

Matthew Grant (22) of Hawthorn Drive in Derry admitted a series of offences that occurred on February 8.

The court heard that police received a report at 6.40am of a suspected drink driver.

Police observed the vehicle in question and they were told the driver had walked away from the vehicle and they saw Grant walking towards a shop and shouted at him to stop.

He was seen throwing items over a fence and when police recovered these they found a charity box for Dementia NI that Grant had been observed stealing from a local shop.

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A car key was also found and when police spoke to the owner she said the key had been stolen from her living room and the car taken without permission. 

Defence counsel Stephen Chapman said that his client had received 'a significant sentence' from the Crown Court and would not be released until March next year.

District Judge Conor Heaney said that the defendant had a 'significant record' and his driving offences were 'bad enough' but were compounded by the theft of the charity box. 

He jailed Grant for four months, fined him £450 and disqualified him for 2 years.