Cork woman's jail sentence for stealing Red Bull cans suspended on appeal

A young mother’s four-month jail sentence for stealing 30 cans of Red Bull by concealing them under her skirt has been suspended on appeal.

Judge Helen Boyle noted from defence barrister William Bulman’s submission at Cork Circuit Appeals Court that that the crime committed by the 24-year-old dated back to 2019.

“She accepts she has an appalling record,” Mr Bulman said.

Judge Helen Boyle agreed to suspend the four-month jail term that had been imposed at Cork District Court provided that she has no further convictions in the next 18 months.

The stealing of the Red Bull was one of three counts to which Constansu Munteanu, aged 24, of 50, Orchard Court, Cork, pleaded guilty.

When the matter first came before Cork District Court, Judge Olann Kelleher noted that the modus operandi was the same each time, that the young woman concealed stolen goods under her skirt and simply walked out of the shop without paying.

On February 11, 2020, she went to Dealz in Blackpool with two other women. They were asked to leave because they had been barred from the premises previously. CCTV showed the defendant conceal 30 cans of Red Bull in her skirt.

On April 13, 2020, she turned up at Lidl in Bishopstown and selected €148 worth of items and concealed them all under her skirt.

Finally, on December 12, 2019, at Centra Shandon on Shandon St she stole €101 worth of meat products by placing them under her skirt.

Munteanu already had 10 convictions for theft before these three thefts.