Man fined €500 for 'appalling' theft of defibrillator in Athlone

A 28-year-old man has been fined €500 for what was described as a "stupid" and "appalling" theft of a potentially life-saving piece of equipment in Athlone earlier this year.

A solicitor for Andrej Frankiewicz told this week's sitting of Athone District Court that his client had no explanation for why he stole the AED defibrillator from outside Cunningham's pharmacy on the Dublin Road in the early hours of Wednesday, March 9, last.

"It was an appalling thing to do, and he accepts that. He was drunk at the time and he took it. He has no other explanation," said the defendant's solicitor, Mark Cooney.

The court was told that Cunningham's pharmacy reported the theft of the device, valued at €1,000, on March 9.

After identifying the defendant on CCTV footage, Gardai arrested him in early April and the defibrillator was recovered.

Mr Cooney said his client, with an address of 70 Willow Park, Athlone, was a Polish native who had been in Ireland for a number of years.

He had been "something of a loner" during his time here and had struggled to find work, the court heard. He had nine previous convictions, most of which were for small-scale thefts from shops.

"There was absolutely no gain for him in this, it was just a stupid thing to do," said Mr Cooney.

Judge Éiteáin Cunningham said she considered it "very serious" that "equipment which may be required to save someone's life," had been stolen.

"The fact that he had no reason, and no explanation, for doing it is even more concerning," the judge commented.

She fined him €500, giving him three months in which to pay. "He is coming to the end of the line in terms of committing offences of this nature," she added.

An application for free legal aid on behalf of Mr Frankiewicz was approved.