Man bought goods in Cork Lidl store with lost bank card, court hears
Sergeant Eimear O'Connell told Skibbereen District Court that Tomas Zielinski, aged 58, of Cork Simon, Mill House, Anderson's Quay, Cork, was charged with one count of handling stolen property and one count of theft relating to an incident in 2021.
The court was told the injured party had lost her TSB bank card in Skibbereen, which had subsequently been found by Zielinski, who was residing in the area at the time.
The court heard on October 20, 2021, Zielinski went into the Lidl supermarket in Skibbereen and used the injured party's bank card to purchase goods to the value of €33.83.
Defence solicitor Margaret Collins said her client had brought €100 in compensation to court for the injured party, and had admitted the offences.
Judge Joanne Carroll said it was a positive step that the injured party had been compensated and she adjourned the case to October 28 for the preparation of a probation report.
This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
6 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Man who was pepper sprayed at Longitude and urinated in a cell after abusing Garda tells court cannabis ‘isn't a drug'
Paul Davis (38), of Deanstown Road, Finglas, Dublin 11, pleaded guilty at Tallaght District Court to criminal damage at Rathfarnham Garda Station and to threatening and abusive behaviour and intoxication in a public place at Marlay Park on June 29, 2024. The court heard Davis was highly intoxicated at the festival when Gardaí observed him arguing with security staff around 5:55pm. He was slurring his speech and acting in an aggressive and confrontational manner. When approached by Garda Stephen Walsh and asked to calm down, Davis called the garda a 'c**t' repeatedly and continued to be aggressive. He was pepper sprayed and arrested before being brought to Rathfarnham Garda Station. While in custody, he urinated on a cell door. The court heard that Davis has 54 previous convictions, including those for public order and criminal damage. The court had previously heard in May that Davis had been drug-free for 10 months, regularly attended AA and NA meetings, and was engaging with Cuan Mhuire services. However, he later admitted to the Probation Service that he still smokes cannabis daily and was found unsuitable for community service. When asked to explain this in court, Davis said: 'Cannabis isn't a drug - it's a plant.' Judge Patricia McNamara responded: 'Oh, well then you think heroin is just a plant?' Davis replied: 'Well no, heroin is chemicalised.' Judge McNamara said: 'There are plenty of chemicals in cannabis too. There are chemicals in it you'd find under your kitchen sink - it's not some little plant growing from your windowsill. You could be smoking rat poison." ADVERTISEMENT She added: 'That kind of attitude shows a complete naivety about drugs. Those are the kinds of plants that will ruin your life.' Davis paid €105 in court to cover the cost of cleaning the cell. Judge McNamara convicted Davis and imposed a three-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, while she also fined him €200, with four months to pay. She told him he must remain of sober habits and abstain from all illicit or non-prescribed drugs during the suspended period. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.
Sunday World
8 hours ago
- Sunday World
Man with ‘dreadful record' broke into hotel room while two elderly women were there
Details were given of 92 previous convictions against Lawrence Mubango, a father of one. A burglar who spent approximately 20 minutes in a Dundalk hotel room while two elderly women were present before making off with cash and clothing has been jailed for eight months. Passing sentence, Judge Nicola Andrews remarked that Lawrence Mubango (36), of no fixed abode, had a 'dreadful record'. He appeared via video link having a week earlier pleaded guilty to burglary at the Imperial Hotel on March 30 last. The case had been adjourned for gardaí to canvass Victim Impact Statements. The district court was told that the two women were uncontactable. Details were given of 92 previous convictions against Mr Mubango, a father of one. These included assault causing serious harm for which he received a 10-year sentence in 2019; theft and forgery. Solicitor Carol Slattery said that her client had spent considerable time in custody previously after which he struggled to integrate back into society. He was 'quite a bright young man' doing well in prison and was one module away from a Degree. The defendant was anxious to move on. He had been unable to attend his eight-year-old son's First Communion. Judge Andrews said that the nature of the offence was 'quite troubling'. When anyone checked into a hotel they were entitled to security and not have have someone sneak into their room. Stock image News in 90 Seconds - July 26th It was quite aggravating and had an appalling impact on two elderly guests. It was at the upper end, the judge continued. An eight-month sentence was imposed, backdated to April 1 last. The court had heard evidence that Lawrence Mubango was neither a resident nor a guest when he entered a third floor bedroom of the town centre hotel at 3.20am. He was there approximately 20 minutes while the two ladies were present. He stole €500 cash, items of clothing and a purse. He exited the room and hotel at 3.38am. Neither the cash nor purse were recovered. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Off-duty bouncer "no longer the same man" after violent hotel assault
An off-duty bouncer who was violently attacked by two men whom he had previously barred from a hotel in Arklow is 'no longer the same man' after being forced into early retirement due to the severity of his injuries. A Polish national who attacked the victim near his workplace while he was off-duty on Christmas Eve five years ago was sentenced to three years in prison for the attack. A sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court heard that the victim had suffered serious facial injuries after being struck in the head with a bottle on Main Street, Arklow on December 24, 2019. Mateusz Gorecki (31), of Ferrybank, Arklow, Co Wicklow pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Paul Lee, contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. The unemployed male, who has been living in Ireland for 14 years, also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of production of an article capable of inflicting serious injury on the same date. Garda Emmet Furlong gave evidence that the injured man was sitting in his car outside the Royal Hotel on Main Street, Arklow at around 10pm on Christmas Eve five years ago to collect his partner from work. Garda Furlong said Mr Lee saw Gorecki and another male, with whom he had interactions in the past in his role as a bouncer at the hotel. The witness said the two men had been barred from the premises by Mr Lee as a result of a previous incident. He told the court that Mr Lee felt the two men, one of whom seemed to have a bottle in his hand, were glaring at him before they walked up and down past his vehicle on the other side of the road. Garda Furlong told prosecution counsel, James Kelly, BL that the bouncer got out of his car to go to speak to the pair. Video footage of the incident was played in court which showed that Gorecki attempted to hit Mr Lee before throwing a bottle at his head. The accused's companion had punched and kicked the victim between the two actions by Gorecki. The court heard that Mr Lee was referred to three different hospitals over the Christmas holiday period for treatment for his injuries. Garda Furlong said the victim suffered fractures to his skull, eye socket and cheekbone and required surgery to implant three plates in his face. He told Mr Kelly that Gorecki was 'nonplussed' by what happened when arrested and claimed he had not thrown a bottle. The witness said the accused was still of the view that the bottle had not hit Mr Lee, despite the video evidence. The court heard that Gorecki had no previous convictions at the time of the assault on the bouncer but had subsequently been convicted of two public order offences for being intoxicated in a public place. Cross-examined by defence counsel, Feargal Kavanagh SC, as to who was the principal protagonist in the assault, Garda Furlong said Gorecki caused the most damage but his accomplice, who received an 18-month prison sentence for his role, was 'more of a leader.' The court heard Gorecki had been drinking at a party in his sister's house in Arklow earlier on Christmas Eve. In a victim impact statement, which was read on his behalf by his son, Mr Lee (54) said he had been a proud, hard-working man before the attack but had been forced into early retirement by an act of unprovoked violence. He told the court that the assault had not just caused him the normal physical agony but had devastated his life entirely. Mr Lee said the psychological effects were 'insidious and even more profound' and he had suffered chronic and persistent damage. The court heard he suffers from seizures and 'insufferable headaches' as well as blurred vision and post-traumatic stress disorder. 'I do not recognise myself,' said Mr Lee. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week He claimed that work provided him with structure, identity and pride but he was now 'no longer the same man' as every aspect of his life had been affected. Mr Lee said his family had also suffered as they were looking at a person who had 'faded into someone unrecognisable.' 'The emotional toll is impossible to fully explain,' he added. He described the assault as not a momentary injury but 'a permanent turning point in my life.' Mr Lee urged Judge John Martin for any sentence to reflect the seriousness of Gorecki's offending which had 'taken the remaining years of my life.' Pleading for leniency, Mr Kavanagh said Gorecki came from a relatively poor background and had suffered a lot of tragedy. The court heard his father died when he was very young, while his mother died last year and a brother was killed in a motorcycle accident in Ireland a few years ago. Mr Kavanagh said the defendant had also expressed remorse and shame for what he described as a 'one-off incident.' He said Gorecki was assessed as being at a moderate risk of reoffending which he believed was linked to his difficulty in finding employment. However, Mr Kavanagh said the accused had recently received the offer of a job at Arklow Golf Club. The barrister said Gorecki had also reduced his alcohol intake and had not committed any other offences since 2023. While not seeking to blame Mr Lee for what happened, Mr Kavanagh said the bouncer had stood 'toe to toe' with the accused and spoke into their faces. Sentencing Gorecki to three and a half years in prison for the assault offence, Judge Martin suspended the final six months for a period of 12 months on condition that the accused place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service on his release from prison for two years and remain free of alcohol for that period. The judge observed that the accused had only demonstrated partial responsibility for an offence that was 'quick and drink-fuelled' but whose effects were 'lasting and very significant.' He said Mr Lee had suffered most horrific injuries in an attack where Gorecki had delivered 'the first and last blow.' The judge noted that the defendant had only entered guilty pleas after a jury had been sworn in to hear his trial. He also took into account that Gorecki had made no concrete expression of remorse or any offer to make amends. The judge offered his best wishes to Mr Lee and expressed hope that the finalisation of the case would bring him some closure. Sign up to the Irish Mirror's Courts and Crime newsletter here and get breaking crime updates and news from the courts direct to your inbox.
