Defendant gets eight months for stealing bank card
Carlow courthouse Photo: Michael O'Rourke
A MAN from Castledermot with 135 previous convictions was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment at Carlow Circuit Court for stealing a man’s wallet.
The court heard that Patrick Stokes of 49 Lerr Avenue, Abbeylands, Castledermot stole the wallet from a man and deceptively used his bank card for four transactions totaling €85 at Raths Londis in Castledermot on 5 July 2023.
Mr Stokes (43) was identified on CCTV in the shop and immediately admitted his responsibility. He entered a guilty plea on two counts of deception at very early stages.
Judge Sinéad McMullan observed that Mr Stokes said, “I’m really sorry, I won’t do it again.” She also noted that he apologised to the shop owner and the complainant after the incident.
Judge McMullan noted that he “does not come to the court as a person of previous good character” due to his 135 previous convictions, the majority of which were for theft and burglary. However, she also noted that the monetary damage caused was low and Mr Stokes’ issues with alcohol, heroin and cocaine addictions were “the root of all of this” offending.
He appeared in court via a video link from custody and is engaging well with the prison services, seeing a psychiatrist, and spending his time attending art and music lessons.
Taking into consideration the other two counts, Judge McMullan set the headline sentence at 18 months. She then reduced it to 12 months based on the mitigating circumstances and suspended the last four months of the sentence to incentivise his rehabilitation.
The judge asked Mr Stokes to enter into a bond with the court to remain drug free in addition to keeping the peace for the duration of his sentence. His sentence was backdated to 15 July 2025 when he entered custody.
