A 27-year-old man who burgled an apartment in Cork in the early hours of the morning asked the householder who confronted him, “Did you order pizza?” 

Trevor Hegarty was sentenced to three and a half years in prison with the last 12 months of that sentence suspended by Judge Dara Hayes at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

The crime was committed at River Towers on the Lee Road in Cork and was “in and out in 60 seconds” and later found in the area intoxicated and sitting on a parked digger.

When the owner of the apartment heard the noise he came out and saw the intruder who asked him, “Did you order pizza?”

The intruder then left without a physical engagement of any kind.

Trevor Hegarty of 48 Gurranabraher Avenue, Cork, was sentenced at Cork Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to carrying out the burglary in June last year. He also admitted having cannabis in his possession for his own use at the time of his arrest.

Detective Garda Alan Johnson agreed with suggestion made by defence barrister, Niamh Stewart, that the accused had a chaotic lifestyle.

He has 215 previous convictions, including 15 for burglary and 35 for theft. He also has one for robbery and another for attempted robbery.

Ms Stewart said the accused confronted nobody in the apartment was gone in 60 seconds. 

“His main problem is drugs,” Ms Stewart said. 

The detective replied, “Absolutely.” 

She said he had spent much of his life in and out of prison.

Ms Stewart said all previous burglary convictions were from commercial properties rather than from someone’s home.

Judge Hayes took into consideration that this was the defendant’s first domestic burglary and that there was no violence and nothing was taken.

The judge referred to Hegarty’s chronic addictions, chaotic lifestyle and very high risk of reoffending, according to the probation report. The judge said significant adversity in his childhood, compounded by homelessness and addiction, had resulted in a lot of problems.

And to make matters worse again, the judge said the defendant was excluded from homeless services in Cork and had been sleeping rough when not in custody.