Young mother took toys from service station and left without paying

Bridget Gavin (26) pleaded guilty to theft at the Applegreen Service Station southbound on September 16, 2021.

She also admitted a charge of no insurance on the same date and failure to provide gardaí with information when requested on September 23, 2021.

Garda Niall Turley told the court that on the date in question, Gavin, with an address at Sillogue Green, Naul Road, was the passenger in a car which entered the forecourt of the Applegreen Service Station.

The driver of the vehicle got out and put an amount of fuel in the car.

The defendant then went in to the shop, took toys to the value of €39.99 from the shelf and stacked them up, Garda Turley said.

She handed them to a young child who was with her, checked all the exits were clear and then ordered the child to leave the shop with the goods, passing all points of payment.

In relation to failing to give information to gardaí, Garda Turley said Gavin was the registered owner of the vehicle at the time and a demand was made by gardaí as to who was driving on September 16th but she would not say.

The defendant has two previous convictions.

Defence solicitor Fiona D’Arcy said Gavin did not go into the shop intending to commit an offence and “can’t really explain it” other than to say “she is very sorry”.

She told the court the defendant had €40 in court with her to cover the cost of the toys taken.

The solicitor said in relation to the other offence, the accused did not understand what was being asked of her and thought gardaí were talking about a driving licence.

“She genuinely didn’t know what was being requested of her, she’s unemployed, a member of the travelling community with three young children,’ Ms D’Arcy added.

Judge Maire Conneely imposed a fine of €250 for the no insurance offence, taking the other matters into consideration.