Judge jails thief who stole goods worth €500 from a Longford sports store

A man who stole goods worth €500 from a Longford sports store has been sentenced to four month in prison, but he will not serve any extra jail time.

Lamen Benseghir of the D Hotel, The Marsh Road, Drogheda, county Louth pleaded guilty at Longford District Court to the theft of the goods from Sports Direct, Ballymahon Street, Longford on October 28, 2024.

Sgt Shane Kelleher, court presenter, said Gardaí received a report of a theft from the store and they attended the scene and CCTV was obtained and viewed.

"It showed Mr Benseghir entering the property and he took goods valued at €500 and then he left the shop without paying for these items."

Sgt Kelleher said none of the items were recovered and the defendant is currently serving a six month prison sentence for other offences at Wheatfield Prison with a release date of December 1.

Mr Benseghir had nine previous convictions.

Solicitor Michelle Reynolds said her client, an Algerian national, has been in Ireland five years and he has been living in several IPAS centres across the country.

"Prior to going into custody he was in Kinnegad, he has no family here as he is on his own..

"At the time of this offence he was not receiving any money from the State and he had no other income."

The D Hotel in Drogheda, county Louth has provided emergency accommodation for international protection applicants in recent years.

Judge Bernadette Owens decided to impose a four month prison sentence to run concurrently with the sentence being served.

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