A Newry man who burgled a lighting store in the city has been jailed for eight months.
James McAteer, 26, of Second Avenue, was sentenced at Newry Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
On May, 10, last year, police received a report from the director of Clanrye Lighting on Edward Street reporting that containers on their premises had been entered during the night.
The injured party provided CCTV footage to police, which showed that, from approximately 12.47am to 1.12am two males, dressed in tracksuits, approached the yard and then climbed over the fence into it.
Footage showed the males going towards a storage container, which the injured party reported had its side ripped open.
Crime Scene Investigators attended the scene and a fingerprint was lifted from the interior wall of the container which was identified as belonging to the defendant.
A discarded can of Gorilla expanding foam was located at the scene and a further fingerprint was lifted from that item, which was identified as belonging McAteer.
Police attended HMP Maghaberry and conducted a voluntary notebook interview with McAteer, during which he provided no comment to all questions.
He was asked if he would provide his fingerprints for comparison but refused.
McAteer’s defence counsel told the court that his client was currently a sentence prisoner and that he was before Newry Crown Court the previous week for two similar matters.
Judge Ramsey imposed a three year determinant custodial sentence in respect to those matters, and that court was made aware that there was this similar matter coming up “and essentially the court did consider the totality of the overall sentences”.
McAteer had been handed a three year custodial sentence in the Crown Court for burglary.
“And in those circumstances,” the defence said, “I would ask this court to deal with the matter that wouldn’t interfere with his ultimate release date, which will be sometime late in 2025.”
Judge Eamon King, in handing down an eight month custodial sentence for criminal damage and burglary with intent to steal, said: “Well, the impression the court had was that this person is a career individual in relation to what he does.”
The judge refused to issue a £400 compensation order given McAteer’s time behind bars for the foreseeable future.
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