Carlow man who caused almost €8,000 worth of damage to local Boots is jailed
Carlow Courthouse
A 47-YEAR-old man who broke into Boots Pharmacy in Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow and stole a cabinet of Dior perfume was sentenced to one year and six months in prison by Judge Eugene O’Kelly at a sitting of Carlow Circuit Court. David Murphy, 67 Willow Park, Carlow pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the shop, which resulted in €7,723 in damage.
Det Garda Kieran Shields outlined that a person with a blue-wheeled suitcase was seen on CCTV smashing the front pane of the pharmacy with a rock at around 1.30am on 26 February 2024. Once inside, he smashed the perfume display cabinet, placed its contents in a suitcase and left the scene.
An hour previous, gardaí had encountered the accused and his girlfriend on Tullow Road in possession of a blue suitcase, in which a claw hammer was found. The accused said he was travelling to work at a Dublin building site. Gardaí seized the hammer.
They found similarities between the offender in the Boots incident and Mr Murphy, and on 20 March 2024 the defendant was arrested and interviewed. He adopted a ‘no comment’ approach.
Brian O’Shea BL for the prosecution outlined that Mr Murphy has 87 previous convictions, eight of which were for criminal damage, 22 for burglary and ten for robbery. He was on bail at the time he committed the offence at Fairgreen.
Aidan Doyle BL for the defendant raised the lengthy forensic psychology report for Mr Murphy and the interviews which were carried out over Christmas 2024. The report said he had first begun abusing cannabis, heroin and crack cocaine at the age of 12 and had left home at 15 years of age. He has a “chronic drug habit”, which led to the offending, said Mr Doyle.
The doctor’s report said Mr Murphy scored extremely low on cognitive functioning tests, but no consistent intellectual disability, and that he suffered from depression and anxiety. Nevertheless, she found him to be someone who demonstrated remorse for his actions, self-awareness, insight into his criminality, empathy for others and an insight into his addiction.
Mr Doyle noted that his client did spend a year in a residential drug treatment centre but began consuming drugs again and his offending recommenced.
Judge O’Kelly set a headline sentence at six years’ imprisonment for the offence and reduced it to three years and six months, considering Mr Murphy’s circumstances.
Considering this sentence will only begin in April 2028, on the legal expiry of a sentence the defendant is now serving for a charge of assault, the judge decided to suspend the last two years of the sentence for a period of two years, on the condition that he follows the directions of the probation service.
The judge noted his desire to see Mr Murphy enter residential addiction treatment after he completes his sentence.
