Man with 70 previous convictions found guilty of stealing a bicycle
Judge Geraldine Carthy
A CARLOW man who has 70 previous convictions was last week found guilty of stealing a bike when he appeared before the local district court. Lee Keating, Bridewell Court, Bridewell Lane, Carlow was found guilty of stealing the bike from Tullow Street, Carlow on 4 April 2024.
The court heard that the injured party had left her bike outside an insurance office on Tullow Street on that date and that two minutes later, when she emerged, the bike had gone.
Investigating officer Garda Murphy told the court that she looked at CCTV taken from shops in the near vicinity and recognised Lee Keating as the man who took the bicycle and rode it away. She said that she was sure it was Mr Keating (41) because she knew him from dealing with him for over three years as a garda stationed in Carlow. She added that the CCTV footage was wiped clean four days later but she had taken a screen shot of it after an initial viewing.
Solicitor Joe Farrell had argued that the image the garda had of the incident wasn’t clear enough and that there was therefore some element of doubt in the case, but Judge Geraldine Carthy said the garda was sure it was the defendant and so found Mr Keating guilty as charged.
She heard that the bike, worth over €500, had never been recovered and that Mr Keating had 70 previous convictions. She then sentenced the defendant to nine months’ imprisonment. Recognisances were fixed for appeal purposes.
