Wine thief’s courtroom re-enactment falls flat in Carlow court
Aldi supermarket
A 70-YEAR-OLD Latvian man’s attempt to prove his innocence through a dramatic courtroom demonstration was swiftly shut down by a judge who told him: “We are not into displays in Carlow District Court.” Mecislavs Obrazcovs of Shraughan Close, Tullow appeared before Judge Geraldine Carthy at Carlow District Court charged with the theft of a €9.49 bottle of red wine from Aldi in Tullow.
The hearing got off to an unusual start when the defendant, speaking through a translator, told the court that he wanted his case heard in a higher court. Judge Carthy informed him he had already elected for Carlow District Court, adding: “He can appeal if he thinks I’ve erred in law.”
Irina Lecenko, a deputy manager at the Tullow Aldi branch, gave evidence about the incident that occurred on 22 October 2024. She told the court that Mr Obrazcovs had come to the till with his partner, who went to pay for their shopping.
“She tried opening the defendant’s jacket to get his wallet, and he said ‘Don’t, because I have a bottle’,” Ms Lecenko said.
The deputy manager said she informed her supervisor and they reviewed the CCTV footage, which showed: “When he bent down, he put a bottle inside his jacket.”
A report was made to gardaí. Ms Lecenko said the defendant had brought another bottle of wine and some grocery items to the till and paid for those, but made no effort to pay for the concealed bottle.
Defence solicitor John O’Sullivan asked why staff hadn’t confronted the defendant if they suspected he had an unpaid bottle in his jacket. Ms Lecenko explained that this wasn’t Aldi policy: “We can’t ask anybody to open their pockets. It’s not our responsibility.”
Mr O’Sullivan put it to the store manager that his client claimed she knew him and didn’t like him. She replied: “He is known to the store as being involved in previous theft.”
The solicitor suggested she had “got it wrong on this occasion”, but Ms Lecenko disagreed.
Garda Geraldine Brennan told the court she had responded to a 10am call reporting the theft. She said Ms Lecenko had recognised and named the defendant in her statement. The CCTV footage, which was shown to the court, showed him concealing a bottle of wine and leaving without paying for it.
Mr Obrazcovs then accused Garda Brennan of being friends with Ms Lecenko and taking her side because she was smiling at her. The garda replied that she had only smiled in recognition as she knew Ms Lecenko from shopping in Aldi.
It was at this point that the defendant told Mr O’Sullivan to inform the court that he had appeared in the same outfit he wore on the day in question “to show how he couldn’t have stolen the wine”.
“We are not into displays in Carlow District Court,” Judge Carthy said firmly, adding: “He can give evidence.”
When the accused took to the stand, he said, through his translator: “I want to show you – I wasn’t in that section; it was my partner. I was dressed like this,” before standing up and producing an empty wine bottle from a plastic bag and attempting to demonstrate putting it in his jacket.
“Sit down! Sit down!” Judge Carthy said loudly and firmly.
In mitigation, Mr O’Sullivan said the defendant had received his social welfare payment that morning and was in a position to easily pay for the wine. When asked if he had taken the second bottle, Mr Obrazcovs made the sign of the cross and said “No”.
Inspector Conor Nolan put it to him that the CCTV showed him picking up two bottles of wine and only paying for one, to which the defendant replied: “There isn’t; I didn’t take it.”
It was also suggested he wasn’t wearing the same jacket as on the day of the incident, to which he said something about having another layer or gilet on that day.
Mr O’Sullivan told the court in mitigation that his client was 70 years’ old with Type 1 diabetes and back issues. He added that Mr Obrazcovs had been living in Ireland for the past decade but had worked as a navy diver in his native Latvia.
The court heard the defendant had nine previous convictions, six for theft offences. His most recent conviction was on 23 April 2025 at Carlow District Court for a section 4 public order offence. His most recent theft conviction was on 30 May 2024, for which he received a five-month custodial sentence, three months of which were suspended for 12 months.
Judge Carthy said she was satisfied from the evidence of the deputy manager and the CCTV footage that the threshold had been reached, and she convicted the defendant of theft. He was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment.
