Man who denied Offaly car theft changed plea after CCTV footage played in court

A MAN who denied car theft changed his plea after CCTV footage was played in court which showed him wiping down the steering wheel of a vehicle.

The video evidence was used by gardai at Tullamore District Court in the prosecution of Jason Harford, who will turn 37 next week, and with an address at Downshire Place, Edenderry.

Mr Harford had pleaded not guilty to stealing a vehicle belonging to a woman from the driveway of her residence in The Sycamores, Edenderry between May 23 and May 24, 2024.

The woman told the court she parked her Ford Kuga on the evening of May 23 and noticed the following morning that it was gone.

She said the driveway was private and was in front of the sitting room window. She would normally hang the car keys on a hook but she could not remember if she had done so on that occasion.

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Judge Andrew Cody was told she reported the missing car to the gardai and about three weeks later heard it had been found in the Dunnes Stores car park in Edenderry.

Garda David Feighery gave evidence of investigating the matter and said that on May 29 he heard the car had been recovered from behind apartments at Fr McWey Street in the town.

Gardai viewed CCTV footage and identified a suspect in the car and wiping down the steering wheel.

Footage from around 1.31am on May 24 was played in court and it showed the car being parked. A person could be seen in the driving seat and gardai said that person wiped the steering wheel.

The person then got out, opened the boot, returned to the driver's door and wiped its outside handle.

Counsel defending Mr Harford, David Nugent, then told the court his client was changing his plea to guilty having seen the CCTV and accepted it was him on the screen.

Garda Feighery said the car had been moved a few times after the theft but was subsequently returned to the owner.

Sergeant Brendan Kearns said Mr Harford had previously made full admissions during an interview with the gardai and had 75 previous convictions.

Mr Nugent said the accused did not know what he was admitting to and was in the throes of addiction at the time. He had made good a loss to the victim.

He said Mr Harford had been given state funding to seek treatment at St Francis Farm addiction centre and would go there for 12 weeks and have after care beyond that period.

“He has a dark past but a bright future,” said Mr Nugent.

Sergeant Kearns said there were a number of suspended sentences and their activation could be triggered by the man's latest conviction.

They totalled 17 months across four different sentences. Mr Nugent said the man had served six months and asked for a remand to a later date because Mr Harford was being considered for a place in St Francis Farm.

Judge Cody remanded him to March 11 for an update on his admission for treatment but said he could anticipate a six-month sentence for the Edenderry car theft offence.

When the matter came before the court on March 11 the judge was told by Mr Nugent that the accused would be attending St Francis Farm but would first have to go to a GP and provide four urine samples so he asked for the matter to be put back for another six weeks.

Judge Cody, who was told Mr Harford had not come to garda attention in the meantime, remanded him on continuing bail to appear in court again on May 6 next.