Judge requests welfare report on homeless man charged with thefts from Cork supermarket

A thief who stole wine and a microwave dinner from a Cork supermarket has pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, being intoxicated in public, and engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour.

Court presenter Majella O’Sullivan told Midleton District Court that Aengus Climent, aged 44, of no fixed abode, went to Hurley’s SuperValu in Midleton on June 20, 2025, and took a bottle of wine valued at €8 before leaving the premises without paying for it.

The court was told that Climent was at the same SuperValu again on June 23, when he took a bottle of wine and a microwave dinner with a total value of €12.90 and left the store without paying for the items.

On this occasion, Climent was challenged by staff. He was stopped by gardaí a short time later.

When he was questioned, Climent was observed to be highly intoxicated and was shouting in the street that he had not stolen anything.

The court was told that Climent had 19 previous convictions, including eight for theft, all in 2025. The items from the June 23 incident were recovered, but the bottle of wine stolen on June 20 was not, leaving Hurley’s at a loss of €8.

Defence solicitor Don Ryan said housing and alcohol were both issues for his client, who had effectively been homeless since 2019.

He said that Climent had spent long periods sleeping rough and had also engaged with the Simon Community and St Vincent’s, where he was assigned a key worker.

Judge Colm Roberts said he would need to see a probation and welfare report before deciding how to proceed, and he remanded Climent in custody with consent to bail until October 9 for the completion of the report.

• This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme