Jailed for burglary and theft of car

A 26-year-old man currently serving a four year jail sentence, pleaded guilty to a house burglary in Ashbourne in which a car was also stolen.

James McGinn whose address was given as Mountjoy Prison, told that he was due to be released in March when he appeared via video link at Trim District Court on Thursday last.

The offences occurred over four years ago, and it had taken some time for the case to come before the court.

It was stated the car was set on fire. Gardai received a report that it was alight early in the morning on January 13 2022 on a slip road off the M2 at Ashbourne.

Sergeant Declan Brady outlined that the keys of the Opel Corsa was stolen along with other items, including watches from the house. The defendant was identified from door bell CCTV footage. He has 93 previous convictions.

Barrister James O’Brien asked Judge McSharry to take account of the delay in bringing the prosecution, the fact that the defendant had pleaded guilty. Also the defendant had used his time in custody to turn his life around, undertaking various courses.

The defendant said he was 14 when his mother passed away. He had a significant difficulty with drugs and was drug free over two and a half years. He was going through a rough patch at the time of the offences, and apologized to the victim.

Judge McSharry imposed a nine month sentence on the defendant for the burglary which he backdated to 2nd June and took into consideration the charge of the unauthorised taking of the car.