Man who committed 'really horrible' crime of stealing phone from Mercy hospital patient as she slept is jailed

A “really horrible” crime of stealing a mobile phone from the bedside of an elderly patient at Mercy University Hospital as she slept resulted in the culprit being jailed for ten months.

When Judge Mary Dorgan urged 49-year-old Jerry Foley of no fixed address to get counselling while in prison, the prisoner complained by video link to Cork District Court: 

“Prison is not rehabilitation, it’s just a business racket. There is no bereavement counselling, there is no school.” 

Judge Dorgan disagreed with his comment on facilities in prison.

Garda Seán Finnegan testified that: “An elderly female patient had her mobile phone stolen from next to her bed as she slept. She described the mobile phone as a black Nokia, valued €100.

“On reviewing the CCTV footage, a man known as Jerry Foley was seen loitering around the cubicle where the injured party slept.

“Jerry Foley is seen entering the cubicle and exiting a short time later. And he later discharged himself from the hospital in the early hours of January 9.

“He was arrested at Bowling Green Street in Cork city centre in a highly intoxicated condition where he could not stand or talk. A Nokia phone which was an exact match for the stolen phone was found in his possession and the pin number provided to gardaí by the owner opened the phone.” 

Judge Dorgan commented that: “This was really horrible so I am sentencing him to six months consecutive to the four months. People in hospital are entitled to feel their property is not at risk.” 

Theft of a watch

The four months sentence was imposed for his part in the theft of a watch from a man at the Mardyke in Cork almost three years ago.

Sergeant John Dineen said at Cork District Court that back on May 29 2022 the injured party was at the Mardyke bridge when he was approached by a man who asked about his jacket and distracted him while a female took off the man’s watch and walked away with it. 

The victim followed them to UCC main gates and lost sight of them in grounds of UCC. He was not threatened or put in fear but his watch was stolen.