A security guard who received three punches to the face while confronting a thief who left a store without paying for goods no longer looked forward to going to work.
This was the scenario outlined before Galway District Court when Rachel McDonagh, 84, Cairéal Mór, Headford Rd, Galway appeared on charges of assault and theft arising out of the incident.
Judge Fiona Lydon heard McDonagh was stopped by the security guard when she left a retail facility on the Headford Road and asked to return to the store. She assaulted the security guard and goods amounting to €609.37 were recovered from her possession. The defendant pleaded guilty and to a separate charge of stealing goods to the value of €129.60 from the Headford Road shopping centre.
The defendant has three previous convictions for theft and had received suspended sentences which have expired.
Her defence solicitor said that McDonagh was 27 and the mother of two children. She had experienced trauma as a child and had significant issues to deal with. All her convictions had occurred during a difficult period over the past three years when she had attempted serious self-harm.
The defence pleaded that there was no possibility of the theft being successful, she simply walked out the door with the goods.
A probation report noted McDonagh was at “medium risk of reoffending” the Court heard. However, Judge Lydon noted that a victim-impact statement outlined how the security guard had lost all confidence since the assault and no longer looked forward to going to work.
He still worked in the store and one of the defendant’s bail conditions was that she stay away from the store.
The Judge said she was concerned to note that the victim had received three punches to the face but if McDonagh was considered suitable for community service she would order the maximum of 240 hours in lieu of six months’ imprisonment for the assault.
On the theft charge she imposed four months, suspended for one year, provided she adhere to the requirements of the Probation Service. This included attending all appointments and addressing her mental health issues.
The Judge advised McDonagh that she needed to focus on her rehab as the next step for her could be a custodial sentence.
