A man who pleaded guilty to seven varied charges in January but failed to turn up in court last week (March 10 ), was sentenced to nearly two years in jail in his absence.
The court heard how Patrick Hynes (24 ), formerly with an address in Athlone but now care of his sister at Bank Gardens, Henry Street, Roscommon had pleaded guilty to two charges each of drug possession and burglary, and to trespass, theft and appropriately, failure to appear in court on January 20.
All the offences occured around Athlone between November 2008 and June 2009.
However, when Judge John Neilan heard from Hynes’ solicitor, Mr Padraig Quinn, that his client was not present in court, the judge sentenced him to 11 months in jail on each of the seven counts, making all but one of the sentences concurrent.
