Burglar who only wanted coffee but saw “opportunity for theft” in Kilkenny has jail term cut on appeal

A burglar who maintained that he only entered a pub looking for coffee before spotting “an opportunity for theft”, has had his jail term cut on appeal. 

Romeo Stanescu (30), with an address on the North Circular Road, in Dublin, pleaded guilty at Kilkenny Circuit Criminal Court to burglary at The Playwright pub, Kilkenny, on June 11, 2018, where the Romanian national made off with €3,500 in banknotes. 

He was sentenced to three years imprisonment by Judge Terence O’Sullivan on October 29, 2019, but the Court of Appeal cut Stonescu’s jail term to two years today (Monday) following a successful appeal. 

Giving judgment, Mr Justice John Edwards said Stonescu had come into the bar shortly after the premises had opened and the manager asked him if he was alright. She received a mumbled response before he left. 

About an hour later, she noticed the same man, Stonescu, coming down the stairs saying he was looking for the toilet. He promptly made his exit and the manager called gardaí to report €3,500 as missing. 

CCTV showed a male entering the pub’s office at around 11.30am, emptying numerous bundles of banknotes from a cupboard onto the desk. He unsuccessfully attempted to gain access to a safe before leaving. 

Gardaí were able to identify him from CCTV footage and arrested him at his address in Dublin’s north inner city. 

Mr Justice Edwards said Stonescu was originally from Romania and had very limited English. He had been to Ireland twice before, working on building sites, to support his partner and daughter in his home country. 

The sentencing judge accepted that it was “just an opportunistic theft”. Stonescu maintained that he had travelled to Kilkenny on the advice of a friend who had promised him work. When this did not materialise, he maintained that he entered the pub seeking only a coffee, and saw “an opportunity for theft” due to the lack of staff. 

Mr Justice Edwards said the seriousness of burglaries can “vary widely” and the Court of Appeal did not consider this incident to have been “particularly aggravated”. 

There was some element of premeditation, but it wasn’t significant, and the harm caused was the loss of €3,500, which has not been recovered. These two factors did not justify the placing of the offence into the mid-range, the judge said. 

It was not established that the loss suffered, of €3,500, would have endangered the business, and Stonescu’s encounter with the manager of the pub was in the public area of the premises, rather than in the private staff area. 

Mr Justice Edwards, who sat with President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham, and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, resentenced Stonescu to three-and-a-half years imprisonment with the final 18 months suspended.