An opportunistic thief who was foiled by his fondness for selfies came before Ballina District Court this week.
Elvis Cocodaru, of 1 Hill Crest, Ballina, was caught out in his crime when he took selfies on a stolen mobile phone, which uploaded automaticaly to the email account of his victim.
Gardaí identified Cocodaru from the photos.
The court heard how a woman left her handbag on the side of the dancefloor in the Broken Jug on November 9 last.
When she went to retrieve the bag it was gone. The bag was later found in the men’s wc however her phone was missing.
In the following days, the woman saw ‘selfie’ photographs uploading automatically from the phone to her email account, and brought them to gardaí who identified the man in the photos as Elvis Cocodaru.
“It was a fairly simple case to solve,” noted Superintendent Donnelly.
Solicitor for Cocodaru, Mr John Gordon, said his client, a 23-year-old Romanian national, worked as a car wash attendant in Ballina and has never come to Garda attention before.
Mr Gordon said it was an opportunistic crime. He took the phone to keep in contact with family in Romania, who he is supporting financially with his earnings in Ireland.
Judge Devins fined Cocodaru €70 and ordered him to pay the victim €80, for her own use or for a charity of her choice.
