Serial thief's level of offending ‘totally off the scale', judge says
Judge Michele Finan adjourned the case for a probation report, ordering him to stay out of Dublin city centre under bail conditions
A serial thief has admitted multiple shoplifting charges in what a judge described as a level of offending that was 'off the scale'.
Dean O'Brien (28) had 'spiralled' on drugs at the time, a court heard.
Judge Michele Finan adjourned the case for a probation report, ordering him to stay out of Dublin city centre under bail conditions.
The accused, with an address at Christchurch Apartments, pleaded guilty to theft and possession of stolen property on dates late last year and early this year.
Dublin court. Stock image
Today's News in 90 Seconds - May 5th
Dublin District Court heard he stole €176 of groceries and two jackets worth €259 from Marks & Spencer.
In other incidents, he was found in possession of breakdown assistance and first-aid kits, and €750 worth of stolen GHD products.
Gardaí found Apple AirPods worth €120 on him at St James's Hospital last November 16. O'Brien had 71 previous convictions.
The accused had a chaotic background and 'spiralled entirely out of control' on drugs, but was now clean, his solicitor Kate McGhee said.
He and his partner had been living in a tent, but now had accommodation.
'The level of offending before me is totally off the scale,' Judge Finan said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
a day ago
- The Journal
Rogue gardener pleads guilty to conning woman out of €2,000 for work he never carried out
A ROGUE GARDENER in Dublin conned a woman online out of €2,000 for work he never carried out, a court has heard. Father of two, Gavin Smith, 35, of Huntstown Wood, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to deception today. Dublin District Court heard that Smith, a convicted money launderer, was contacted by the unsuspecting victim through the website on 3 September 2021. She asked him to work on her back garden, was quoted a fee and paid a €2,000 deposit, but Judge Michele Finan heard Smith 'failed to carry out the work'. After several weeks, he refunded her half the money, but never paid the rest back. Advertisement Smith, with 18 prior criminal convictions, including money laundering, was jailed last year and will remain in custody until next year. He was not charged with the offence until May this year. Defence solicitor Daniel Hanahoe told Judge Finan his client's mother had died shortly beforehand. He also began using cocaine. Hanahoe submitted a letter from his client about his progress since the offence. The judge described it as 'excellent', adding that it should be forwarded to the victim, who did not have to attend the hearing. Judge Finan said the offence was at the more serious end of the scale and noted Smith 'interacted with someone, made a promise and took money'. Noting his guilty plea and efforts at rehabilitation, she imposed a five-month sentence backdated to 2 May, when he was charged, sparing him additional prison time.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Terrifying message sent by ‘Chinese hackers' to M&S boss after crippling cyber attack on British retailer is revealed
'CHINESE hackers' allegedly sent a terrifying message to the boss of Marks & Spencer following a crippling cyber-attack on the British retailer. Fraudsters, believed to be from the hacking group DragonForce, are said to have emailed the company's chief executive Stuart Machin and seven other key executives. 2 High street retailer Marks & Spencer was hit by a cyber attack over the Easter holiday Credit: Alamy 2 M&S boss Stuart Machin, pictured, along with seven other company executives were emailed by the hackers, believed to be DragonForce Credit: PA The message, written in broken English, was sent on April 23, indicated that M&S was hacked by the ransomware group, although the retailer has not acknowledged this. 'We have marched the ways from China all the way to the UK and have mercilessly raped your company and encrypted all the servers,' the hackers wrote, according to the BBC. 'The dragon wants to speak to you so please head over to [our darknet website].' The link to the darknet shared in the email led to a portal for victims of DragonForce to negotiate a ransom fee. Read More on UK News The hackers added: 'Let's get the party started. Message us, we will make this fast and easy for us.' DragonForce's attack during the Easter holiday has been hugely damaging for one of Britain's best-known retailer and is thought to have cost the firm an estimated £300million. After six weeks on from the attack, the retailer is still unable to process online orders. The email was sent to Mr Machin along with seven other top executives, according to the corporation. Most read in The Sun A racist term is also said to have been included in the blackmail message and also ended with an image of a fire-breathing dragon. Along with installing ransomware in order to cripple M&S's IT system the hackers are also believed to have stolen private data from millions of customers. The £3.50 M&S buy that'll make your whole house smell like a 'boujee candle' Three weeks on from the attack, M&S informed customers that contact details and dates of birth from some shoppers had been obtained by a suspected cyber cartel. M&S also admitted other personal details, including customers' order histories, had also been pilfered by online criminals. Bosses though have stressed that no data relating to shoppers' payment, card details or account passwords had been obtained. It is unclear how many customers have been affected by the data breach. According to the company's full-year results, it had 9.4million active online customers in the year up to March 30. The email apparently sent by DragonForce is thought to have bene sent using the account of an employee from IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which has provided IT services to the retailer for more than a decade. The Indian IT worker, who is based in London, had an M&S email address but is paid employee of TCS. Timeline of the attack Saturday, April 19: Initial reports emerge on social media of problems with contactless payments and click-and-collect services at M&S stores across the UK. Customers experience difficulties collecting online purchases and returning items due to system issues. Monday, April 21: Problems with contactless payments and click-and-collect persist. Tuesday, April 22: Disruptions continue. Wednesday, April 23: Despite earlier claims of customer-facing systems returning to normal, M&S continues to adjust operations to maintain security. Contactless payments are initially restored, but other services, including click-and-collect, remain affected. Thursday, April 24: Contactless payments and click-and-collect services are still unavailable. Reports surface suggesting the attackers possibly gained access to data in February. Friday, April 25: M&S Monday, April 28: M&S is still unable to process online orders. Around Tuesday, April 29: Information suggests that the hacker group Scattered Spider is likely behind the attack. Shoppers spot empty shelves in selected stores. Tuesday, May 13: M&S revealed that some Wednesday, May 21: The retailer said disruption from the attack is expected to continue through to July. It's thought the worker was among the victims hacked. The company had previously said it is investigating if it was a gateway for the cyber attack. It has since informed the BBC the email was not sent from its system and had nothing to do with the security breach. M&S has declined to comment on the latest revelations. A spokesperson for the company told The Sun Online: 'We cannot comment on details of or speculation on the cyber incident, and we have been advised not to.'
The Journal
a day ago
- The Journal
Grandmother handed three-year restraining order over online abuse of daughter and grandchildren
A JUDGE HAS imposed a three-year restraining order on a Dublin grandmother, barring her from posting online about her daughter after she allegedly harassed her and wished death on her grandchildren. The young woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, resorted to using anti-stalking laws and applied for the order at Dublin District Court. However, her estranged mother did not attend the scheduled hearing to contest the claims against her. 'My mother is harassing me,' her adult daughter told Judge Anthony Halpin, adding that she had been subjected to online abuse, including 'she hopes my kids die'. Asked why this happened, the woman, in her twenties, explained that she had been taken into care when she was young and there had been a fractured relationship since. She told the court that the posts started nine weeks ago after five years of no contact. Advertisement The woman believed her mother was 'retaliating for having no contact with or access to her grandchildren'. On reviewing printouts of the posts, Judge Halpin stated he was satisfied the woman had made a reasonable case for a civil restraining order barring unwanted contact and online posts about the applicant. He held that it was appropriate to compel the respondent from harassing or placing her daughter in fear. Judge Halpin said gardaí would serve the order on the grandmother, and the court had a wide range of sanctions available if she broke the terms. Breaching them can result in the subject of the order being brought to court, jailed for up to a year and a maximum €4,000 fine. The restraining orders were introduced in the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 as a remedy for people seeking protection. The District Court may issue an order to prevent the respondent from violence or threats, stalking, harassing or approaching the applicant's home, work, or school. It can run for up to five years, but may be shorter depending on the presiding judge's assessment.
