Man jailed for stealing €690 worth of scrap metal

Man jailed for stealing €690 worth of scrap metal


A 28-year-old father of four was sentenced to three months imprisonment for the theft of €690 worth of steel and scrap metal from outside Precision Engineering, Moneen Industrial Estate, Castlebar at last week’s sitting of Westport District Court.
On August 1 last at 4pm Castlebar gardaí received a call that three individuals in a blue Ford Transit had been seen taking the steel and scrap metal outside Precision Engineering in Moneen, Castlebar.
John Sweeney of 34 The Meadows, Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon was one of the three men involved and he appeared at Westport District Court last week.
At 4.30pm shortly after the scrap metal was taken gardaí in Swinford stopped the blue Ford Transit van and seized it. After some enquiries they ascertained that the steel and scrap metal was the same material which had been stolen earlier.
Sweeney was sentenced to five months imprisonment at Ballaghaderreen District Court by Judge Geoffrey Browne on March 9 last after a previous suspended sentence for an unrelated offence imposed in July 2011 was reactivated following the August 1 theft.
Mr Sweeney’s solicitor acknowledged that her client was wrong to take the scrap metal but she said however that it should be noted that he did not enter inside the premises to take the scrap metal. 
The scrap metal had been left outside the business premises, and had appeared to have been discarded or thrown out.