Suspended sentence for possession of stolen property - Kilkenny Live

An 18-month suspended sentence was handed down to a young father who pleaded guilty on the basis of recklessness to possession of stolen property and to possession of forged documents.

Garda Mark Nolan told the court that on January 21, 2022 gardaí were aware that a caravan was in a location in Kilkenny at the back of 3, St Mary’s Crescent to the rear of Timmy Jackman’s family home.

Gardaí attended and spoke to the defendant, Timmy Jackman, 3 St Mary’s Crescent, Hebron Road, Kilkenny. A warrant was executed and the caravan was removed and a technical examination of the vehicle took place.

Prior to this date the defendant and his wife and infant had been residing in the caravan. Upon inspection gardaí observed that the chassis number had been tampered with and that there was a difficulty in relation to the vehicle identification numbers.

There was also damage to the door lock and frame and the opinion was formed at that some stage the door had been forced open. A technical examination of the vehicle also took place and it was noted that there had been a crude attempt to change the vehicle ID number.

Gardaí were also given a laminated document which contained a picture of the caravan and purported to give details, which were in fact incorrect details. A second document was also found to be a forged registration document.

During garda interview the defendant said that he had bought the vehicle from a man in Wexford and had got his details from Facebook. The defendant told gardaí that he did not know the man selling him the caravan and that he paid €12,000 in cash.

He was 19 at the time and he paid half of the cost and his family paid the other half. He told gardaí that he was not in a position to be able to give them the name of the man as the Facebook page had since been deleted. The defendant also told the investigating gardaí that he ‘didn’t have a clue that the documents were not real’.

The defendant said that he had viewed the vehicle in Wexford and met the man selling the vehicle on the side of the road and had paid in cash. He added that he was not aware of the damage to the door. When asked by gardaí if he was reckless when he bought it, he said that it was and that should ‘have checked more’.

“It was my fault,” he said to gardaí.

Gardaí established that the vehicle was stolen in 2017 from the Oxford area of England and had an approximate value of €18,ooo according to Thames Valley Police.

The defendant has not come to adverse garda attention since.

Defence barrister, David Roberts said that his client apologises for his recklessness and accepts that ‘the offer was too good to be true’. Mr Roberts said that his client is now 23 and lives with his partner and two young children.

“He left school at 16 and has a decent employment record. He has a close relationship with his family and I am asking to court to be as lenient with him as they can,” he said.

Judge Dermot Sheehan imposed an 18 month sentence which he suspended on condition that the defendant keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 18 months.