A teenager, who stole a pair of right-footed runners which came in different sizes, has been remanded on bail pending sentence.
The boy (16) pleaded guilty to theft of Nike runners during a shoplifting at Lifestyle Sports, in the Omni shopping-centre in Santry, north Dublin, on October 29th.
Garda Emily Carr told the Dublin Children’s Court an off-duty garda spotted the teenager “pick up runners from a display on the front window”.
Judge John O’Connor was told that Gda Carr was notified and came the scene where she watched CCTV footage of the theft which led to the boy’s arrest. The Nike runners were recovered and returned to the store in a saleable condition, said Gda Carr.
“They were two right feet runners, in two odd sizes,” she added.
The boy’s solicitor Gareth Noble confirmed one of the runners was a size three and the other was the next size up.
He told Judge O’Connor that his client, who cannot be identified, could not have benefited from the theft.
Mr Noble said the teenager, who was supported in court by his father, is currently in a rut. “He does not have a lot of structure and routine to his day”, the lawyer said.
The boy has no prior criminal convictions recorded against him but was already known to the Probation Service; Mr Noble suggested they “may well be able to help him get out of the rut he is in at the moment”.
The boy, who is on bail, was ordered by Judge O’Connor to appear again in January when a pre-sentence probation report will be furnished to the court.
The boy quietly answered “yes” when asked if he understood that he would be to his benefit if he got a good report.