Two Dundalk men who stole from a shop in Newry before swiping €50 from a car nearby were visibly relieved when their prison sentences were suspended.
Jason Tuite, 24, of Oakland Park, and 21-year-old Thomas English, also of Oakland Park, appeared before Newry Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday from Banbridge Custody Suite, charged with two counts of theft and interference with a vehicle.
The pair, on the previous Tuesday evening (February 11), at around 7.40 pm, walked into the Spar store on Patrick Street in Newry.
English was observed on CCTV entering the store with a female before taking two cans of Red Bull from the fridge, handing one to the female, and concealing the other with his coat. He left the store without paying for the items.
Around the same time, Tuite entered the off-licence part of the store, placing a bottle of rum in his coat and leaving the store without paying.
At 10.20 pm, police received a report of two males and a female entering a Honda vehicle in the area. Police spoke with the owner, who reported that €30 to €50 was missing from her vehicle. No damage was caused.
The defendants were interviewed, but Tuite said he couldn’t remember anything, although he apologised, while English admitted the theft of the Red Bull. He couldn’t remember being involved in the vehicle offence.
The court heard that Tuite was in breach of a four-month suspended sentence handed down in April 2023.
Tuite had a four-month sentence suspended for two years handed to him in April 2023.
His defence counsel explained that Tuite is currently working but has applied to Dundalk IT and is due to start a course in youth work in September.
The lawyer said his client gave a full account “as far as he recalled” to the police.
He added: “He came up [to Newry] last night to meet a friend. He recalls starting to drink and then his next recollection is waking up in the police station, and he has apologised for any behaviour that has taken place.”
In defence of English, he added that his client has “very little recollection” and described the offences as “relatively minor”.
Deputy District Judge Laura Ievers handed English a four-month prison sentence but suspended it for 12 months.
Tuite, “because you have come to adverse attention before, I’m not going to activate the suspended sentence, but I’m going to treat it as an aggravating feature.”
He was handed a five-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months, much to the visible relief of the defendant in custody.
Both were ordered to pay £20 compensation to the owner of the vehicle.
