Stole stock from supermarket storeroom on 12 occasions, Carlow court heard
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A 62-YEAR-old man who stole from a Castledermot supermarket on 12 separate occasions in the aftermath of losing his family home to an arson attack received a fully suspended sentence at Carlow District Court.
Leo Burke, William Pearse Terrace, Castledermot pleaded guilty to charges arising from thefts at Raths Londis in Castledermot totalling €773.30. None of the stolen property was recovered.
Judge Geraldine Carthy heard that the owner of the store noticed stock going missing from the storeroom and had CCTV cameras installed. Reviewing the footage, he observed Mr Burke removing numerous items from the storeroom and placing them in his van on 12 separate incidents spanning from August to December 2025.
Barrister Eamonn O’Moore, appearing for Mr Burke, told the court there were significant background issues behind the offending. In June 2025, Mr Burke and his family lost their home when the property was destroyed in an arson attack. Mr O’Moore said Mr Burke’s wife and son are currently receiving counselling following what he described as a “traumatic event that has not resolved yet”.
Mr Burke had also been unemployed during the period in which the thefts occurred, but had since secured work at a timber yard.
Mr O’Moore told the court that his client had managed to borrow money and had brought €750 in cash to hand over as restitution. “He has no previous wrongdoing,” the barrister reminded the court.
Noting the guilty plea and the difficult personal circumstances, Judge Carthy nonetheless observed that the “recidivist offending behaviour has to be taken into account”. She convicted Mr Burke and sentenced him to nine months in prison, suspended in its entirety for 12 months, with a €300 own bond.
Judge Carthy added that she was “not even going to trouble him to engage with probation services”.
