Theft of electrical goods from Cork supermarket was 'out of character', court hears

A man who stole €700 worth of electrical goods from Tesco in Youghal, Co Cork, had recently changed his medication and had acted “out of character”, the district court was told.

Sergeant Linda O’Leary told Youghal District Court that Avtandil Otarshvili, aged 36, of Briar Wood, Old Youghal Road, Cork, was charged with two counts of theft relating to the theft of electrical goods on two separate dates from Tesco in Youghal.

The court heard the first theft occurred on April 19, 2025, when Otarshvili stole electrical goods to the value of €436. On April 28, Otarshvili returned to the store and on that occasion electrical goods worth €264 were taken.

The court was told Otarshvili had no previous convictions for theft but had two convictions for road traffic matters.

Defence solicitor Aiden Desmond said Otarshvili could not remember the incidents but was pleading guilty and had done so from the earliest opportunity. 

He said his client suffered from mental health issues and had changed his medication around the time of the thefts and the offences were “out of character”. He said Otarshvili had very limited means but had brought €110 to court.

Judge John O’Leary said  one in four people in Ireland suffered mental health issues but most of them did not steal. 

He said it was positive Otarshvili had brought some compensation and he remanded him on continuing bail to appear again on December 12, by which time he was expected to bring the balance of the loss to court.

This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme