Serial offender was using fake driving licences
The 27-year-old had 19 previous convictions
A 27-YEAR-OLD man with 19 previous convictions has been sentenced to three months in prison for theft and fined €550 for road traffic offences at the local district court. Rahards Vitols, 1 Riverview Court, Carlow had entered a guilty plea to the charges a week earlier, the court heard.
Evidence was given that during routine roadside checks on 19 April 2021, Garda Murphy stopped a vehicle driven by Mr Vitols. The defendant was found to be in possession of two driving licences – one Irish and one Italian. Both licences were seized, with the Italian document forwarded to Italian authorities, who examined it and deemed it to be false.
The court heard that on 4 January 2022, Garda O’Sullivan responded to the alleged theft of a mobile phone at an off-licence. The victim, an employee of the premises, had put her phone down while carrying out stock checks. When she returned a few minutes later, the phone was missing. Only one person – Mr Vitols – had entered the off-licence during this period. He was later arrested and subsequently charged.
The court heard that Garda Hennessy arrested Mr Vitols on 3 March 2024 on a number of matters. Gardaí had stopped a vehicle at an address in Kildare, where Mr Vitols, the driver, produced a Finnish driving licence. He was arrested after his alcohol level was found to be above the legal limit. Gardaí then established that Mr Vitols was not the Finnish person whose name he had originally given and that he had not produced a valid driving licence.
Evidence was given of failure to appear at court, as well as Mr Vitols’ most recent conviction on 14 March 2025, for which he was sent to Cloverhill Prison.
The court was told that Mr Vitols had 19 previous convictions, including entering a building with intent to commit an offence and being intoxicated in public.
His solicitor said Mr Vitols apologised to the court and explained that his behaviour was due to alcohol abuse. The solicitor stated that due to his client’s alcohol problems, he had no memory of the theft before the court.
By way of mitigation, the solicitor said his client had “experienced a lot of alcohol in his background” and had moved around frequently as a child. Mr Vitols came to Ireland at the age of nine from Latvia, after which his parents separated. He had recently been in steady employment, working at a car-washing business in Naas for several years.
The court heard that Mr Vitols is currently in custody for matters of criminal damage and has already served two months on these matters. He has been in custody since April and is currently serving a nine-month sentence with a release date of 13 December.
Judge Patricia Cronin said that taking into account all the facts, including the guilty pleas, she was convicting Mr Vitols under section 4 theft of the mobile phone and imposing a three-month prison sentence dating from the court date. The judge said she was giving credit for his time already served in custody, but noted that he was also in custody on another matter.
In relation to the road-traffic matters, Mr Vitols was fined €550 in total and disqualified from driving for two years.
