Woman in the Midlands picks up 78th conviction for shoplifting

A woman picked in the Midlands up her 78th conviction last week after she was caught red handed stealing from a local discount store.

Marian Leddy (37), of The Caravan, Ballyminion Car Park, Longford , pleaded guilty at last week's sitting of Longford District Court to stealing groceries worth over €100 from Iceland, Athlone Road, Longford on November 14, 2022.

Sgt Mark Mahon, for the State, said gardaí received a call at around 10am to an incident that happened just seconds earlier.
He said the accused entered the store and proceeded to fill a shopping bag full of items before passing all points of payment amd exiting the store.

Ms Leddy was apprehended moments later in the car park area and all items were recovered in a resaleable condition.
The court was told Ms Leddy had 77 previous convictions, 50 of which were for theft related offences.

In defence, solicitor Bríd Mimnagh said her client had “fallen off the wagon” soon after losing botth her parents.

“She was gone off the drink and she inhales deodrants but she has stopped that now,”she said.

“In the last year, she lost her mum and her father and in her own words, she fell off the wagon.”

Ms Mimnagh asked the court to consider being as lenient as possible in light of the fact she pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.”

The local solicitor also explained how her client was unable to attend court earlier in the day due to pains in her teeth.

This, she said, was caused by steel plates Ms Leddy had inserted into her face a number of years ago as a result of an assault.

Judge Bernadette Owens fined Ms Leddy €150, giving her six months to pay.