A pair of brothers caught trying to sell stolen scaffolding to a scrapyard both received suspended sentences in the District Court this week (September 1 ).
Martin (19 ) and Patrick (20 ) Stokes, of Millbrook Drive, Monksland were in court to plead guilty to a total of six charges and the first of the siblings up was Martin.
Inspector Fergus Treanor gave evidence how gardai were called to the Golden Island Shopping Centre on April 7 shortly after 4pm where an employee was being abused by the defendant, and again on June 19, when he was “using threatening behaviour” towards the employees of the Pitstop chipper on Connacht Street at 2am.The court also heard how he stole €1.69 worth of foodstuffs from a shop in Monksland but was apprehended by security staff.
With his brother, they took €200 worth of scaffolding from a building site on April 20, but it was all recovered when they tried to sell it the following day.
His solicitor, Owen Carty suggested his client’s “difficulties began when he started drinking” but that the scaffolding theft “couldn’t’ve been more stupid”.
Judge David Anderson pointed out to Mr Carty his client had signed a bail bond on April 27 and offended again on June 19.
Mr Carty accepted this and pleaded for a non-custodial sentence to which the judge agreed.
Martin was sentenced to seven months detention, suspended for two years for the theft, with the remainder taken into consideration.
Patrick, who also faced an additional theft charge after he was caught with €60 worth of batteries on a Roscommon farm on June 30, was not jailed either, but was given nine months detention, suspended for two years for the trespass. He received a concurrent two months for his part in the scaffold theft.
