Man jailed for stealing ‘hot pants and things like that’ from truck

A Dublin man has been jailed for 14 months for stealing almost €2,000 worth of “hot pants and things like that” from the back of a delivery truck.

Noel Dempsey (61) of Stannaway Road, Crumlin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to stealing four boxes of women's clothes from a lorry on Wicklow Street on August 13th, 2013.

Garda Joseph Heaphy told James Dwyer, prosecuting, that a lorry driver had collected boxes of Pull & Bear clothes from Henry Street early in the morning and driven to Wicklow Street.

The driver stepped away from the lorry for five minutes and noticed on his return that the lorry’s tail lift had been interfered with.

He discovered that four boxes were missing and reported the incident to gardaí. Dempsey was identified on CCTV footage as one of two men taking the boxes and driving away with them in a van.

The van was linked to Dempsey and gardaí ­ went to his home where they found the boxes in his van.

The clothes, which were never recovered, were valued at €1,988.

Garda Heaphy agreed with Keith Spencer, defending, that the boxes were full of women’s clothing, “hot pants and things like that”.

Dempsey’s 99 previous convictions include 27 theft related offences and 67 road traffic offences.

Prostate cancer

Mr Spencer told the court that Dempsey has undergone chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer which is currently in remission. He has also undergone five coronary bypass operations and has had 21 stents placed in his heart.

Judge Karen O’Connor said Dempsey’s health conditions, his guilty plea and his bereavement were all mitigating factors in her sentencing.

The company from which the clothes were collected is no longer trading but the court heard there was no evidence which linked this incident to the firm shutting down.

Judge O’Connor said that 2013 was a difficult time for businesses to survive and the loss of €2,000 worth of stock must have had an impact on the company. “It is in no way a victimless crime” said Judge O’Connor, who jailed him for 14 months.

She said that without mitigating factors she would have considered a sentence of 2½ years.