Chef stole from same West Cork shop 21 times in just over a month

A chef from Tipperary who had accumulated a gambling debt stole items from a shop in Bantry in Co Cork on 21 separate occasions, the district court has heard.

Sergeant Trish O’Sullivan told Bantry District Court that Anthony Esmond, aged 43, with an address at Glengarriff Road, Bantry, had stolen items from the Mace supermarket, Main Street in Bantry on 21 different occasions between September 4 and October 9, 2024.

The court was told that Esmond concealed the items in a reusable shopping bag and went to the checkout to pay for other items on each occasion, but did not pay for the items in the bag.

Among the items stolen were multiple cans of gin, a bottle of wine, ready meals, cooked meat, onions, potato salad, cheese, a bar of chocolate, orange juice, scented candles and shower gel. The court was told that Esmond was identified by CCTV and the total value of the items stolen was €303.46.

Defence solicitor, Flor Murphy, said Esmond was a chef who had developed a problem gambling debt at around the same time he committed the offences. He said his client had never been in trouble before and was 41 years old at the time of the first theft. 

He said Esmond was “deeply ashamed and embarrassed” by what had happened and finds his behaviour hard to explain other than he was “short of money at the time”.

The court was told that Esmond had no previous convictions and had compensated the shop for the value of the goods stolen. Mr Murphy said Esmond made full admissions and was fully co-operative.

Judge Treasa Kelly said because Esmond had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty and had compensated the injured party he was entitled to probation for a first offence. 

The judge applied Section 1 (1) of the Probation of Offenders Act but warned Esmond he should be in no doubt that he could only benefit from probation once.

This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme