A woman who stole clothes from Dundrum Town Centre and attempted to drive off with a security officer holding on to the bonnet of her car has been given a suspended sentence.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Carley Hopkins (35) of North Great Clarence Street, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to one count of endangerment, one count of theft and one count of production of an article in the form of a tin foil-lined shopping bag on February 12th, 2023, at Dundrum Town Centre. She has no previous convictions.
Passing sentence on Thursday Judge Patricia Codd said: “Any security member is entitled to go out and do their work without the fear of endangerment.”
Judge Codd said the tinfoil-lined shopping bag showed premeditation, and she considered this an aggravating factor along with Hopkins’s attempts to evade the security officers.
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The judge said the mitigating factors in this case were the letters handed into the court on behalf of Hopkins, the admissions she made at the scene and her apology. Judge Codd also said that Hopkins comes before the court with no previous convictions, which is a significant factor.
Judge Codd sentenced Hopkins to two and a half years in prison on the endangerment count and eighteen months on the theft count, both of which are to run concurrently. She then suspended the sentence in full for three years. She took the production of an article charge into account.
A token of remorse of €1,000 was brought to court by Hopkins for the injured party in this case. Judge Codd said that if the security guard does not wish to accept the token, it should be donated to the St Vincent de Paul charity.
Garda Shane O’Connor told Simon Matthew, BL, prosecuting, that on the day in question, he and a colleague received a call from security guards in the Dundrum Town Centre. He said Hopkins entered H&M in the shopping centre and had a tinfoil-lined shopping bag with her. She left the shop a short time later with €246 worth of clothing.
Gda O’Connor said security guards followed Hopkins to the underground car park and approached her when she was at her car. As the security guards were speaking to Hopkins, she started to drive off.
One security guard held on to the car’s bonnet from when Hopkins exited her parking space until she reached the barrier. She was then blocked in by other cars until the gardaí arrived.
Simon Donagh BL, defending, said his client is a part-time cleaner and suffers from mental health difficulties. He also outlined that she cares for her mother and cousin and is a single parent to a teenage child.
Counsel said, “It was an incredibly dangerous act, but she did provide context in that she was scared when confronted by the security guards.”
