Cork man found with stolen safe and jewellery just hours after he left jail

A MAN was caught with a stolen safe containing €24,000 in cash and jewellery hours after his release from prison.

Now at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Mark Wolfe, aged 48, has been sentenced to three years with the last 15 months suspended by Judge Dara Hayes.

The sentence also covered an offence of having cocaine with a street value of just over €1,000 for sale or supply.

Wolfe, of Glentrasna Court, Glen Avenue, Cork, appeared at Cork Circuit Criminal Court where he previously admitted possession of cocaine and having the drugs for the purpose of sale or supply to others on October 16, 2021, at the community centre car park in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork.

Defence barrister Emmet Boyle said the value of drugs was low and that the accused saw it as being like buying a round of drinks whereby he would buy the cocaine and share it with friends and that on another occasion they would do likewise.

He was also sentenced for handling a stolen safe containing over €24,000 in cash on July 18, 2022.

Mr Boyle said it was by no means a well-planned crime and that the accused was intoxicated at the time.

“He was under a CCTV camera for a period of 13 minutes holding a safe of a not insignificant size,” said Mr Boyle.

“He was intoxicated throughout the entire escapade.”

Judge Hayes noted that the accused was arrested at his home in a highly intoxicated condition and in possession of the stolen safe on the day that he had been released from prison.

The drugs offence was detected in Carrigtwohill. Wolfe threw a bag of white powder into a nearby bush as gardaí approached him. The bag was retrieved and found to contain €1,100 worth of cocaine.

He has four previous convictions for having drugs for sale or supply. He has 13 for burglary, several under the Misuse of Drugs Act, in his total of 100 previous convictions.

He has been in custody since the day of the offence in July 2022.

The Probation Service said his chaotic and volatile life made him a high risk of reoffending.

Judge Hayes was told the defendant was traumatised as a child, witnessing his father being shot during a Christmas Eve robbery when he was six years old.