*Vaughan’s Garden Centre.
AN unwitting burglar who fled a garden centre with a trolley full of stolen shrubs and flowers left a trail of compost behind him to lead Gardaí to the man’s home nearby, a court has heard.
At Ennis District Court, solicitor for Eamon Quinn (38), Tara Godfrey admitted that her client’s €500 theft of garden products from Vaughan’s Garden Centre, Gort Road Industrial Estate on Ennis’s Gort Rd on February 10th last was “cartoonish”.
Sgt Frank O’Grady told the court that Mr Quinn had taken flowers, shrubs and stone ornaments from the centre and a trail of compost he left behind led Gardaí to his home a short distance away at Aughanteeroe, Gort Rd, Ennis.
In the case, Mr Quinn – appearing in court via video link from Limerick prison – has pleaded guilty to entering the then closed Vaughan’s Garden Centre as a trespasser late on the night of February 10th to commit theft contrary to Section 12 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act.
Ms Godfrey told the court that Mr Quinn went to the garden centre and filled up his trolley and then walked the trolley along the pavement to his home from the garden centre and left behind a trail of compost on the footpath.
She said, “The Gardaí then follow the trail of compost and find pots and various gardening items that have been stolen from Vaughans in his back garden and Eamon Quinn is arrested, charged and comes to court and pleads guilty”.
Ms Godfrey said that her client apologises for the offence and has been on remand in custody since March 17th on the charge.
She said, “Burglary has not been a feature of his offending behaviour but was a feature of his mental state at the time of this offence”.
Ms Godfrey said that some of the goods were recovered.
Ms Godfrey said that her client doesn’t have a clear memory of the incident at Vaughan’s Garden Centre as he was abusing the prescribed medication he was on for his health difficulties”.
Ms Godfrey said that her client was in a road traffic accident a number of years ago which resulted in him sustaining an acquired brain injury.
She said, “He had been a promising chef and that is something he will go back to time to time”.
Ms Godfrey said that Mr Quinn’s “father was passing away in September and October of last year” and at that time, her client had repeated seizures and in total spent six weeks in hospital “and this was a particularly difficult time for him”.
Ms Godfrey said that Mr Quinn found himself homeless and living with his brother in law.
Sgt O’Grady said that Mr Quinn has 66 previous convictions that include 15 previous for theft and five for burglary.
Judge Alec Gabbett asked if the Probation Services were helpful for Mr Quinn in the past and remanded Mr Quinn for a further two weeks in custody for a probation report to be presented to court on April 23rd.
Judge Gabbett said, “Post release supervision is what I am interested in. What can we do for him when he is out. Complicated history here”.
