A teenage shoplifter with a penchant for the brand specific was fined €200 despite making good the €60 for the stolen shirt.
The District Court in Athlone was told this week (March 4 ) how Joseph Joyce (18 ) from Farnagh, Moate was arrested last August 11 after stealing the branded shirt from the Tommy Hilfiger outlet in the Athlone Towncentre with a co-defendant.
The item was not recovered but the defendant was identified from CCTV footage.
“He seemed to succumb to the temptation of the logo,” offered his solicitor, Mr Tony McLynn, who handed in €60 restitution for the item of clothing.
Judge Eamon O'Brien fined Joyce €200 for the theft.
His 17 year old co-defendant, who couldn't be named because of her age, faced Judge O'Brien a little later in the proceedings.
As she was unable to offer anything in the way of compensation for her part in the theft because of her “limited financial means”, Mr McLynn sought a certain course of action for his juvenile client.
However, after Superintendant Aidan Glacken told the court how “she had been given the benefit of the courts before”, Judge O'Brien adjourned sentencing on the five month’s pregnant teen until June 17 in order for the Welfare and Probation Service (WPS ) to prepare a report on her progress or lack of it in the meantime.
