Man stole €740 from wallet of man he shared tent with after day of drinking
Carlow Court House. Photo: Michael O'Rourke
A MAN who stole a wallet containing €740 in cash from a person he had spent the day drinking with was sentenced to five months in prison at Carlow District Court.
Wayne Robinson (36), who has 57 previous convictions, 13 of which relate to similar matters, pleaded guilty to the theft, which occurred on 4 June 2025 at around 8pm outside the Foundry nightclub in Carlow town. The stolen wallet and its contents were never recovered.
Judge Geraldine Carthy heard that Mr Robinson, of no fixed address, was identified by CCTV footage. The state noted that his most recent conviction was at Carlow Circuit Court in March for section 2 criminal damage arising from an incident in August 2025, for which he received 21 months in jail, with a number of theft matters taken into consideration.
He is currently serving a 14-month sentence and is due for release in August.
Solicitor Joe Farrell, appearing for Mr Robinson, told the court that his client had been drinking with the injured party on the day in question and that both men had been living together in a tent at the back of a house at the time.
“He had been drinking with this gentleman during the day. He made admissions and is quite embarrassed. It is not something he is proud of,” said Mr Farrell, adding that “the temptation of the money in the wallet was too much”.
Mr Farrell said his client, who grapples with addiction, “has other plates spinning at the moment” and is “engaging in prison with a view to being released”. He asked the court to bear in mind the August release date while acknowledging that he was “not sure what will happen next door”, in a reference to his client’s matters before the circuit court.
Mr Farrell also submitted that Mr Robinson “thought this was a totality of matters that had been dealt with already”.
Judge Carthy noted that Mr Robinson had been on bail at the time of the offence. She convicted and sentenced him to five months, to run consecutive to his current sentence. Bail was granted on a €500 own bond.
