A woman who stole a handbag but was caught when she offered to sell it back to her victim, had an 11 month sentence adjourned until November for a new probation report.
Tina Lynch (37 ), formerly of Killure, Ballinasloe but now with an address in Portumna, was arrested on March 11 , 2008 after the theft on Lloyds Lane in Athlone.
The handbag and all its contents were valued at €1,000. All but€100 in cash was recovered.
The court was told how Lynch, a recovering addict, only came to Garda notice after she called a friend of the owners with the phone in the bag and “offered to sell it back for a sum of money”.
Her solicitor Mr Mark Cooney told the court his client had a probation report from last November but Judge John Neilan was unimpressed by it, pointing out a line from the report which read: “she is not personally motiviated in dealing with her addictions”.
Mr Cooney pleaded his client had been making a marked improvement and asked the judge to seek an updated report.
The judge sent Lynch down for 11 months but adjourned commencement of this sentence until November 18, depending on a good report that day.
