A BANTRY man who stole a car after he crashed his own has brought €1,000 compensation into court for the car owner.
Bryan Murphy (28) of 36 Glengarriff Road, Newtown, Bantry pleaded guilty at Bandon District Court to burglary and the unauthorised taking of a vehicle.
Sgt Tom Mulcahy told the court that at 8.15am on May 15th 2023 Gda Tom O’Connor from Bandon Garda Station received a report of the theft of a car from a property at Mawbeg West, Bandon.
It emerged that the keys to a car belonging to Fiona O’Shea were taken from inside her house and her car was stolen.
‘Gda O’Connor spoke to a neighbour, James Brooks who saw the defendant at 6.30am on the road looking for a lift and acting very suspiciously,’ said Sgt Mulcahy.
Mr Murphy was identified by CCTV and he presented himself at Bantry Garda Station and handed in the keys of the car.
‘He had driven from Bantry and crashed his car that night and in an effort to get where he wanted to, he took the car.’
The court heard he has no previous convictions but was suffering mental health issues at the time and that there was no damage to the car.
Defence solicitor Flor Murphy said this was a very unusual set of circumstances and handed in a medical report to the court. He said his client, who lives at home with his mother, had written a letter of apology to the injured party and brought €1,000 into court for her.
‘He’s trying his best to deal with issues and what he did was absolutely crazy that night,’ said Mr Murphy, who asked the court to be as lenient as possible.
Judge Philip O’Leary dismissed the case under the probation act and noted that compensation was paid by Bryan Murphy to the injured party.
