A 17-year-old with 57 previous convictions is facing a two year jail sentence if he doesn’t appear for his next court date.
Mullingar District Court heard how the youth, who is the father of a five month old daughter and cannot be named for legal reasons had a chaotic upbringing.
He left school at 12 and has been drinking since he was 13. He then became addicted to heroin. He has no qualifications but has occasionally worked with horses and carriages on St Stephen’s Green.
The boy has been clean for a year and now resides with his mother, who is separated. He has already spent time in a residential centre to detox.
His mother currently has cancer and his grandfather is dying of throat cancer, Ms Patricia Cronin told the court in her bail application, saying he has only days to live.
The teenager signs on daily at the Bridewell Garda Station in relation to other offences and has only seen the Probation Service once in his long history before the courts.
The teenager had failed to appear in court on Thursday but turned up on Friday and was warned by Judge Anderson that if he fails to make his next date on April 22, he is facing two years in prison.
He is charged with a number of offences relating to an incident in Rochfortbridge on August 28, 2009.
The 17-year-old was identified as the driver of a van which had been stolen in Dublin the previous month from a courier who had just delivered a package on Baggot Street.
There were false plates on the Fiat Ducato and the teenager gave a false name and address.
There were three blank cheques in the van which had been signed by the owner, who is self-employed.
The previous convictions relate to thefts, possession of knives, and taking cars. He had been in Kevin Street Garda Station when he was due in court on Thursday.
