Man pleads guilty to €70,000 jewellery theft in Letterkenny

A 41‑year‑old man pleaded guilty in Letterkenny Circuit Court to two jewellery thefts totalling an estimated €70,000.

Raimond Lacatos, a Romanian national with no fixed abode, entered a plea of guilty before Judge John Aylmer. He was brought from prison, where he has been held since being extradited from Slovenia earlier this year under a European Arrest Warrant.

The first offence involved entering Curiosity Corner on Upper Main Street as a trespasser on 13 March 2023, resulting in the theft of jewellery valued at €70,000. The second offence related to a burglary at Asia Food Store, Drumnahoagh, on 15 May 2018.

Lacatos was also originally charged with three further burglaries – at Riverside View Apartments, Pearse Road (10 June 2018); Mr Chippie Takeaway, Ramelton Road (14 September 2018); and a private residence on Plunkett O’Boyle Road (30 October 2020). The State’s barrister indicated a nolle prosequi could be entered on one count and two others might be taken into consideration.

His defence counsel highlighted Lacatos’s recent medical issues, including a stomach infection, and requested medical and prison reports. Judge Aylmer adjourned the case for sentencing pending those reports.

Source: Donegal Daily. Photo: Pham Ngoc Anh / Pexels.