Longford District Court: Defendant fined for trespassing

A defendant who pleaded guilty to trespass was fined €400 at Longford District Court. James Gibson (40) of 5 Wolfe Tone Court Edgeworthstown, Longford was initially facing two charges.

Inspector David Jordan said the defendant was before the court arising from an incident on Sunday, September 25, 2022 following the theft of kerosene from the Marie Edgeworth Centre, Old School The Green, Edgeworthstown.
Mr Gibson was charged with trespassing without reasonable excuse on the curtilage of the building. A charge of the theft of heating oil was struck out before the case was heard.
Inspector Jordan said Mr Gibson was in the company of another man who climbed a protective fence at the Edgeworthstown community centre. The other individual, who was previously prosecuted and convicted in connection with the incident, emptied the oil tank of kerosene.

Inspector Jordan said the other person had drained the oil from the tank, but Mr Gibson handed one of the drums over the fence.
The defendant had 18 previous convictions , nine of which were for road traffic offences. The inspector told the court that Mr Gibson has no convictions for theft in this jurisdiction and had not come to adverse Garda attention since.
Solicitor for Mr Gibson, Brid Mimnagh, said her client had been “straight up about his involvement” with the Gardaí. She said there were “young lads robbing the oil” and her client had intervened, telling them not to do it. Ms Mimnagh said Mr Gibson “knew what was going on” and told them to get out of there, but he accepted that by being there he was trespassing at the time.

The solicitor told the court the father of four has “got his act together” and is “doing the best he can”. Ms Mimnagh described Mr Gibson as a native of Scotland who has lived in Ireland for a number of years: “He is staying out of trouble,” she added,
Taking the facts of the case into consideration Judge Bernadette Owens imposed a fine of €400, giving Mr Gibson six months to pay.