Limerick woman sentenced to five months for €1,000 theft spree

Leanne McCarthy, 46, of 61 Upper Careys Road, Limerick, was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment for a series of thefts totalling more than €1,000.

The Limerick District Court heard she committed five offences between 29 April and 17 August this year. The first offence was at Garvey’s SuperValu in Corbally, where she stole groceries worth €80.27. A second theft occurred on 28 July at a Circle K on the Corbally Road, involving €99.60 of goods.

McCarthy was later identified on CCTV stealing €476.20 of items from Elvery’s sports shop in the Crescent Shopping Centre on 31 July, and a further €319.45 from the same store on 4 August. The final offence was on 17 August at Ballinacurra Late Night Pharmacy, where she took €43 of cosmetic items. None of the stolen items were recovered.

She has 170 previous convictions, including 121 in the Republic of Ireland and 49 in Northern Ireland, for theft, stolen property, drug misuse, road traffic and public order offences. Her solicitor, Sarah Ryan, told the court that McCarthy had briefly relapsed into prescription drug use and was struggling with family contact.

Judge Derek McCarthy, familiar with her circumstances, back‑dated the sentence to 3 September.

Source: Limerick Post. Photo: Christian Gutiérrez Martínez / Pexels.