A DISTRICT court judge has issued a bench warrant for a man who robbed money from the till of a Bandon hotel bar and also stole items from a supermarket.
John Burke (27) of Bob and Joans Walk, Roman Street, Cork city failed to appear at Bandon District Court to face two charges of theft.
Gda Jessica Newman told Judge Andrew Cody that on September 5th last she was on duty when she received a report of a male and a female causing a disturbance at the bus stop in Bandon.
‘On arrival I met the accused who was acting suspiciously and jumped to the top of the queue to get onto the bus. He became agitated and I believed he was in possession of drugs,’ said Gda Newman.
As she was placing him in the garda patrol car, Don O’Sullivan, owner of the Munster Arms Hotel, approached her and said he recognised the accused as the man who had stolen €200 from the bar till in the hotel on September 2nd.
‘Mr O’Sullivan had access to CCTV footage and I viewed it and saw Mr Burke taking the money from the till,’ the garda said.
Following his arrest the defendant was taken to Bandon Garda Station, and told gardaí during an interview that he had gone behind the bar after it was closed and took €200 from the till.
‘I was walking back to my girlfriend’s apartment as she had asked me to get her a can of Red Bull. The door of the hotel was open and I walked behind the bar. I had a few drinks, took the money and wasn’t thinking,’ said Mr Burke.
‘I apologise and it wasn’t my intention to steal it and I’m willing to pay the money back,’ he added.
Gda Peter Scannell told the court that on August 27th last he received a call from the manager of Aldi in Bandon who reported a theft from the previous day at 10.02pm.
‘She saw a male and a female entering the shop and noticed the male had secreted items on him and in a bag, and left without paying for them,’ he said.
The court heard the value of goods stolen was €37.76 and after examining the shop’s CCTV Gda Scannell identified Mr Burke as the suspect.
Gda Scannell said that Mr Burke made full admissions to the theft when he later interviewed him.
In a memo read out in court by Gda Scannell, Mr Burke said he couldn’t remember what he took as he was ‘having a bad day’ and didn’t think he paid for them.
‘I was on tablets and I’d like to apologise to Aldi and its workers and I wouldn’t normally do it,’ he stated.
The court heard that he has 76 previous convictions including nine for theft.
Judge Cody convicted him on both charges and issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
